rotten news relay - comp.mobile.android - What does a Widget do that a one-tap shortcut to an Android Activity not do?

Subject: What does a Widget do that a one-tap shortcut to an Android Activity not do?
From: Andrew
Newsgroups: comp.mobile.android
Organization: BWH Usenet Archive (https://usenet.blueworldhosting.com)
Date: Sat, 6 Jul 2024 18:17 UTC

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From: andrew@spam.net (Andrew)
Newsgroups: comp.mobile.android
Subject: What does a Widget do that a one-tap shortcut to an Android Activity not do?
Date: Sat, 6 Jul 2024 18:17:57 -0000 (UTC)
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What does a Widget do that a one-tap shortcut to an Android Activity not
do?

In a recent thread on weather app icons, I suggested one-tap shortcuts to
public Android Activities - which Muntashirakon App Manager easily creates
but which very many other apps also create, as shown below for the creation
of a single-tap shortcut to the reset-advertising-ID setting deep inside
the Android settings. <https://i.postimg.cc/P5d7kxgc/shortcut26.jpg>

In that prior thread, I mused about the possible difference between widgets
versus one-tap homescreen shortcuts to internal activities within an app.

Is there a difference?

What does a widget do that a one-tap shortcut to the Activity doesn't do?

Subject: Re: What does a Widget do that a one-tap shortcut to an Android Activity not do?
From: Arno Welzel
Newsgroups: comp.mobile.android
Date: Sat, 6 Jul 2024 20:22 UTC
References: 1

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From: usenet@arnowelzel.de (Arno Welzel)
Newsgroups: comp.mobile.android
Subject: Re: What does a Widget do that a one-tap shortcut to an Android
Activity not do?
Date: Sat, 6 Jul 2024 22:22:13 +0200
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Andrew, 2024-07-06 20:17:

> What does a Widget do that a one-tap shortcut to an Android Activity not
> do?

Display changing content. A widget is not just there to handle taps.

[...]
> In that prior thread, I mused about the possible difference between widgets
> versus one-tap homescreen shortcuts to internal activities within an app.
>
> Is there a difference?
>
> What does a widget do that a one-tap shortcut to the Activity doesn't do?

It can display content and can take up much more space than a single icon.

--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de

Subject: Re: What does a Widget do that a one-tap shortcut to an Android Activity not do?
From: Carlos E. R.
Newsgroups: comp.mobile.android
Date: Sat, 6 Jul 2024 20:25 UTC
References: 1 2

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From: robin_listas@es.invalid (Carlos E. R.)
Newsgroups: comp.mobile.android
Subject: Re: What does a Widget do that a one-tap shortcut to an Android
Activity not do?
Date: Sat, 6 Jul 2024 22:25:59 +0200
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On 2024-07-06 22:22, Arno Welzel wrote:
> Andrew, 2024-07-06 20:17:
>
>> What does a Widget do that a one-tap shortcut to an Android Activity not
>> do?
>
> Display changing content. A widget is not just there to handle taps.

Right.

And it can react differently to taps on different areas of the widget.

For example, a widget can display weather and time. tapping left or
right takes you to the weather app or to the clock app.

--
Cheers,
Carlos E.R.

Subject: Re: What does a Widget do that a one-tap shortcut to an Android Activity not do?
From: Andrew
Newsgroups: comp.mobile.android
Organization: BWH Usenet Archive (https://usenet.blueworldhosting.com)
Date: Sat, 6 Jul 2024 22:51 UTC
References: 1 2

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From: andrew@spam.net (Andrew)
Newsgroups: comp.mobile.android
Subject: Re: What does a Widget do that a one-tap shortcut to an Android Activity not do?
Date: Sat, 6 Jul 2024 22:51:16 -0000 (UTC)
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Arno Welzel wrote on Sat, 6 Jul 2024 22:22:13 +0200 :

>> What does a Widget do that a one-tap shortcut to an Android Activity not
>> do?
>
> Display changing content. A widget is not just there to handle taps.

Ah. Yes. I think I remember seeing that.
For example, for a weather app, the widget can display changing temperature
on the icon itself. I remember also that I had a charging widget once,
because my cable kept falling out of the damaged port so I needed to know
if it was charging at any given moment.

>> In that prior thread, I mused about the possible difference between widgets
>> versus one-tap homescreen shortcuts to internal activities within an app.
>>
>> Is there a difference?
>>
>> What does a widget do that a one-tap shortcut to the Activity doesn't do?
>
> It can display content and can take up much more space than a single icon.

Yeah. It can display content. That's the nice thing. Like charge status.

The bad thing is they tend to be huge, and only some can be downsized,
although almost never to the size of the icon (as I recall from long ago).

Thanks for reminding me of the difference between widgets and shortcuts.
Much appreciated.

You will be called upon to help a friend in trouble.

comp / comp.mobile.android / What does a Widget do that a one-tap shortcut to an Android Activity not do?

Subject	Author
What does a Widget do that a one-tap shortcut to an Android Activity not do?	Andrew
Re: What does a Widget do that a one-tap shortcut to an Android Activity not do?	Arno Welzel
Re: What does a Widget do that a one-tap shortcut to an Android Activity not do?	Carlos E. R.
Re: What does a Widget do that a one-tap shortcut to an Android Activity not do?	Andrew