Build iPhone widgets and Live Activities

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The same product recording shown on our landing page. Explore the publishing workflow, then build and test the features your own project needs.

What Live Activities are

A Live Activity presents a bounded, ongoing event such as a running timer or delivery in progress. It can appear on supported system surfaces, including the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island on compatible devices. The point is to answer a timely question at a glance, not to recreate the entire app outside its main interface.

Choose an event with a clear beginning, meaningful updates, and an end. For example, a workout session can show elapsed time and the current phase. A delivery can show the current stage if you have a reliable data source. Do not display invented progress simply to make the interface look active.

Home Screen widgets and Lock Screen widgets

Widgets provide compact views of app information that are useful between visits. A habit widget might show today’s progress; a planning widget might show the next item; a fitness widget might show a recent total. Pick one clear purpose for each size instead of trying to fit a whole dashboard into a small space.

Design for legibility and privacy. Text should remain understandable at a glance, and information visible on a locked device should be appropriate for that context. Use meaningful empty states when there is no saved data. A widget that displays stale or unexplained numbers can be less useful than one that clearly states what it knows.

Three useful widget concepts to build

A daily-progress widget can show a completed count and a route back to the relevant screen. A next-session widget can show the time and name of a planned activity. A saved-item widget can surface a recent item so the customer can resume a task quickly. These are design examples, not claims that every generated app already includes them.

For each concept, define where the data comes from and what a tap should open. Test the widget with a new account, an account with data, and a user who has not opened the app recently. The extension and main app need a consistent view of the information they share.

Dynamic Island and the update lifecycle

Dynamic Island is available only on compatible iPhones, while other supported devices may present the activity through different surfaces. Design the compact and expanded states for the information each can show. The full app should remain useful when a device does not display the activity or the user disables it.

Updates depend on the app’s implementation and the system’s capabilities. A local timer and a server-driven delivery update have different needs. Do not assume an activity can run arbitrary background code or refresh continuously without constraints. Define a sensible stale state and end the activity when the underlying task has finished.

Why native implementation matters

Widgets and Live Activities use Apple frameworks such as WidgetKit and ActivityKit. A standard website does not become an iOS widget merely because it works on a phone. A web-first product needs an appropriate native integration before it can provide these system experiences.

Superapp’s native Swift output gives you a route to implement those integrations in the app project. The result still needs configuration and device testing. Check that opening a widget leads to the right screen, that the app and extension share the intended data, and that a completed activity disappears or changes state as designed.

How it works

1. Choose a glanceable task

   Describe the single question the widget or Live Activity should answer. Specify the data source, the intended audience, and the event lifecycle. A useful example is the progress of a real ongoing session, not a decorative status display.

2. Generate the native experience

   Ask Superapp to add the appropriate widget or Live Activity to the Swift project. Describe the content for each supported size or presentation state. Keep the design focused and avoid placing sensitive information on a surface visible without opening the app.

3. Connect state and updates

   Define how the app shares data and when the displayed state changes. Test empty, active, stale, and completed states. For remote information, verify the backend and delivery mechanism rather than assuming the interface itself creates reliable updates.

4. Verify on supported devices

   Inspect the experience on real hardware and supported operating systems. Check taps, permissions, end behavior, and what happens when the user disables the feature. Keep the main app functional even when the widget or Live Activity is unavailable.

Pricing and running costs

Superapp offers free starting credits in supported countries, with paid plans starting at $25 per month. Building and revising uses credits. Budget separately for your domain, connected services, and usage inside the finished product. Publishing an iOS app also requires your own Apple Developer membership.

Check current plans and credit allowances before starting. Estimate both the first release and ongoing operation: maintenance, provider usage, and customer support continue after launch. Start with a focused workflow so you can measure actual costs before expanding the product.

Limitations and your responsibilities

Availability depends on device, operating system, permissions, and the implementation. System surfaces have layout and update constraints. Do not promise unlimited background execution or automatic support on every iPhone. Widgets and Live Activities require real-device testing and reliable data; examples on this page describe possible use cases rather than verified customer results.

Sources and further reading

• Superapp features
• Related guide
• Apple ActivityKit
• Apple WidgetKit