Home screen widgets have been a popular feature on the best Android phones for more than a decade now, but they've been seeing renewed interest since Apple added them to iPhones with iOS 14 in 2020. Now, in One UI 4.1, Samsung's adapted a bit of Apple software design to create Smart Widgets — space-saving stacks of widgets. Here's how to use them.

What are Samsung Smart Widgets?

Smart Widgets are a new feature in Samsung's One UI 4.1, available now on phones like the Galaxy S22 Ultra (Galaxy devices running One UI 4.0 or earlier do not have Smart Widgets). In a nutshell, they're stacks of widgets that you can swipe through. Here's what they look like in action:

Neat, right?

How to add a Smart Widget to your Samsung phone

Adding a Smart Widget works like adding any other widget — but note that your phone must be running One UI 4.1. Samsung Galaxy devices on older versions of One UI don't have Smart Widgets.

1. Long-press on an empty part of your home screen.
2. At the bottom, tap Widgets.
3. Tap Smart Widget.
4. Choose your preferred size.

Once placed on your home screen, Smart Widgets can't be resized, and only widgets that can fit your selected Smart Widget's proportions can be added to the stack. For example, Spotify's playback widget is fixed at a size of 4x1, so it's only compatible with the 4x1 Smart Widget — it can't go in the 2x2 or 4x2 sizes.

Up to seven widgets can be added to a single Smart Widget.

How to add, remove, and edit widgets in Smart Widget groups

Adding new widgets

1. Long-press your Smart Widget.
2. Tap Add widget to Smart Widget.
3. Choose the widget you'd like to add.
   • Remember, only widgets that can fit the selected Smart Widget's size can be added.

Removing widgets

1. Swipe left or right on your Smart Widget until the widget you'd like to remove is selected.
2. Long-press the widget.
3. Tap Remove from Smart Widget.

Editing widgets

1. Swipe left or right on your Smart Widget until the widget you'd like to change is selected.
2. Long-press the widget.
3. Tap Current widget settings.
   • What you can change from here will vary depending on the widget.

Here are the "Suggested widgets"

The 4x1 Smart Widget includes functionality like Google's At a Glance widget: by default, it'll automatically alert you to upcoming calendar events, even if you haven't manually added a calendar widget to the group. It'll also tell you when devices connected to your phone are running low on battery. Samsung calls these alerts "suggested widgets," and they're only present in the 4x1 Smart Widget — not the other two sizes.

It's a handy feature, but if you want to turn it off, here's how.

1. Long-press your Smart Widget.
2. Tap Settings.
3. Under "Smart suggestions," turn the toggle for either Calendar​​ or Connected devices (or both) off.
   • You can re-enable either by repeating this process and turning the toggle(s) on.

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Now you're ready to start stacking your widgets like an organization pro. For more Samsung stuff, check out our list of the 14 best Android and One UI software tips for your Samsung Galaxy phone or 15 tips to improve your Samsung phone's home screen experience.