How to use interactive widgets on your Mac desktop

In macOS Sonoma, Apple changed the way widgets work. Unlike previous versions of macOS, widgets don't have to be hidden off-screen or largely forgotten in the Notification Center panel. Now, they can exist directly on your Mac’s desktop – and they’re interactive, too. Here's how to use them.

If you like the way widgets work in Notification Center, don’t worry – you can still have them there, but now you can also drag them to the desktop using your pointer .

The first widget can be placed anywhere, and Apple then provides placement guidelines for subsequent widgets by showing an outline of the widget shape, indicating where they can snap into place relative to other widgets.

Alternatively, if you right-click an empty area on the desktop, the menu that appears includes an "Edit Widgets..." selection. Selecting this option brings up a widget gallery that also includes widgets in all sizes available in the iPhone thanks to the continuity feature between Apple devices. So even if you don't have the corresponding Mac app, you can still use iOS widgets directly on your desktop. Just drag it from the gallery to the available space.

If you have multiple iPhones, you can also choose which widgets appear in the Widget Library on your Mac. Go to System Settings ➝ Desktop & Dock, and in the Widgets section, click the iPhone drop-down menu to select the device you want to sync to.

As mentioned before, widgets are natively interactive. For example, in the Home app widget, you can control specific accessories by clicking individual buttons to turn them on and off. Another example is the ability to check completed to-do items in the reminder list widget.

Note that if you right-click the widget, any available customization options will appear in the context menu. The widget comes in small, medium, and large sizes, and they all include a "remove widget" option if you want to get rid of it.

When not in use, the widget fades into the background using the color of the wallpaper, so you can focus on the active application or window. There's also an option in System Settings to change the widget style from full color to monochrome for a more uniform look.

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