“Fun is an essential part of learning something new.
Fun also improves user engagement.
It was similar to the Launchpad on all today’s Macs.
MacOS Sonoma desktop widgets.Apple
Dashboard,introduced in 2005’s OS X Tiger, put widgets on this secondary desktop.
But Dashboard withered and died.
The problem was the second desktop layer.
MacOS Sonoma desktop widgets syncing with iPhone.Apple
Like Launchpad, the Dashboard remained out of sight and out of mind.
And like another failed Apple ideathe MacBook Touch BarApple seemed to give up on it almost immediately after launch.
Fun is an essential part of learning something new…
BasicAppleGuy’s radio widget mockup.BasicAppleGuy
It can make users feel better mentally and finally make the product unique.
Then came Apple’s second attempt at widgets.
If you’re on the Mac, it’s possible for you to look at them right now.
But again, the Notification Center and its widgets are hidden until activated.
Sonoma’s Desktop Widgets
EnterSonoma’s desktop widgets.
To use these, you drag a widget out of the new widget dock and onto the desktop.
It’s just like the one that came to the iPad last year.
They can be grabbed and moved around like anything else you’ve dumped on that desktop.
In fact, if you’re a messy desktop person, then this might prompt you to tidy up.
The advantage of desktop widgets is clear.
you’re free to just glance at them any time.
And these widgets bring back something else: Whimsy.
Take a look at this amazing radio widget, amockup designed by BasicAppleGuy.
And these widgets, like those from the original Dashboard, are interactive.
you might calculate, with the calculator, for example.
Widgets might not be strictly necessary, but they are certainly useful and can be entertaining.
What’s not to like?
