Apple, Please Don't Add Third-Party Widgets To iOS

The iOS experience is about to get even better. Thanks to iOS 5, Apple will unleash a dizzying array of new features, most which are highly anticipated. Still, the possible inclusion of third-party widgets is not something I feel will benefit iOS in general and here is why. The Notification Center As a refresher, iOS 5 includes a Notification Center. It is here alerts for new email, texts, friend requests, and more are located. These alerts show up in one of three ways. First, when an iOS session is active, new notifications appear briefly at the top of the iDevice screen. Second, the Lock screen displays notifications, each which may be accessed with a swipe of the finger. Finally, there is the Notification Center itself, which is accessed by swiping down from the Home screen. Even in the iOS 5 beta, this new alert system looks fresh, much-needed, and simple to use, according to developer sources. As such, Apple should be celebrated for (finally) adding a thorough alert system to iOS. The fact that the company is including three different ways of seeing these alerts is equally impressive. The Widgets And yet, I find one aspect of the Notification Center worrisome; namely the introduction of widgets to iOS. First, let’s be clear: Apple has only announced the inclusion of two widgets in iOS 5, and both come from the company itself. These are a widget for current weather conditions and a stock ticker. Both of these pull their information from official iOS apps, Weather and Stocks, respectively. In fact, I don't believe Apple even calls these "widgets" by name. Unfortunately, we know where this is probably heading. Eventually, third-party developers will also be able to add widgets (or whatever they'll be called) to the Notification Center. As such, an entirely new ecosystem of sorts will be born. In addition to the iOS home screen (and its apps), customers will also have access to widgets and with each one, more and more alerts. Why This Is Wrong This is overkill and in one respect, has been tried before. Since Mac OS Tiger, widgets have been included on the Mac. For the most part, the Mac community as a whole has largely forgot them, although they remain in OS X Lion. Although no expert on the matter, I believe the reason widgets aren't too popular on Macs is that they add undo clutter to the OS experience and would do the same for iOS. In fact, on the iDevice’s smaller screen, perhaps more so. Plus, take a look at the screen on any Android-based device and you'll see what I mean. It is pure clutter with widgets above apps and precious real estate lost. Summary I absolutely love the Notification Center, don't get me wrong. However, my suggestion would be for Apple to refine it as an alert, not widget center. What do you think? Are you looking forward to third-party widgets on iOS or not? Let us know by leaving your comments below.

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