19Invading the Home Screen
CUSTOMIZING THE HOME SCREEN
Widgets, Live Wallpaper, and App Shortcuts let you add a piece of your application directly onto the user’s device home screen. By incorporating these features into your app:
- Users get instant access to priority functionality.
- Users can see important information without needing to open an application.
- You get an entry point to your applications directly on the home screen.
A useful home screen Widget, Live Wallpaper, or App Shortcut increases user engagement, can decrease the chance that an application will be uninstalled, and increases the likelihood of its being used.
INTRODUCING HOME SCREEN WIDGETS
Home screen Widgets, more properly AppWidgets, are visual application components that can be added to other applications. The most common feature of App Widgets is that they can be used to enable users to embed an interactive piece of your application directly within the home screen. A good App Widget provides useful, ...
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