Most days you only need a quick look: what's on, who is dropping off, what's for dinner. A beanies widget puts that on your Home Screen, so you can glance at your phone and know. Tap any part of it and beanies opens on the right screen.
Add the widget on iPhone
Touch and hold an empty spot on your Home Screen until the icons start to wiggle.
Tap the + in the corner.
Search for beanies.
Swipe to choose a size, then tap Add Widget.
Add the widget on Android
Touch and hold an empty spot on your Home screen.
Tap Widgets.
Find beanies and drag the widget onto your screen.
Choose what it shows on the setup screen, then save.
Widgets are per-device: adding one to your phone does not add one to anyone else’s. Each device shows its own, from your family plan. On iPhone, widgets need iOS 17 or later.
Three sizes
- Small shows the date, the weather, how many things are on today, and the next thing coming up, even when that is later in the week.
- Medium shows your calendar, with drop-offs and pick-ups, tonight's dinner, and your to-dos underneath.
- Large shows the same, with room for more of the week and more to-dos.
Your calendar first, your to-dos underneath
The widget is always laid out the same way. The calendar is at the top: today’s activities, family trips ("day 3 of 6"), including ones you are not on, and birthdays. When today is quiet, the rest of the week fills the space, each day under its own date, with tomorrow marked, so you always know when you are looking ahead.
To-dos and lists sit underneath, in the same place every time. To-dos, helpful hints, reminders and lists share one order: overdue first, then what is due today, then anything without a date, then what is due later this week. When there are to-dos, they always keep a little room, and "2 more" tells you how many did not fit.
On Android the calendar scrolls through the week while the to-dos stay put. On iPhone, widgets cannot scroll, so the widget shows as much as fits and later › opens beanies for the rest. Nothing is ever squeezed in: if it does not fit, it is left out, so the text stays easy to read.
My day or our day
My day shows what is yours today, the same as your daily briefing on the Nook. Our day shows the whole family’s day, like the beanie wall. You can also pick which parts show: the plan, who is where, dinner, to-dos and lists, trips and birthdays, and helpful hints. To make the text bigger, choose a Text size: Standard, Large or Larger. Bigger text means fewer rows fit, never squashed ones, and the widget also follows your phone’s own text size. Set the Background to 70% or 40% to let your wallpaper show through (100% is solid).
iPhone: touch and hold the widget, then tap Edit Widget.
Android: you choose when you add it. To change it later, touch and hold the widget, then tap its settings or reconfigure option.
Weather on your widget
The weather shows beside the date on the medium and large widgets, and on the small widget in the spot where a peek at what is coming used to be. The peek returns whenever there is no weather to show. It comes from your family’s home town, which is set once for everyone in Settings → Region & Holidays. Until a home town is set, no weather is shown.
When a reading gets old, the widget shows how old it is. After a longer while the current temperature is hidden, and today’s high and low stay.
Lock-screen widgets on iPhone
On iPhone you can also add a small beanies widget to your Lock Screen. The inline and rectangular ones show the current temperature along with your next pick-up or the next thing on. The circle shows one thing at a glance, and you choose which.
Touch and hold the circle widget, then tap Edit Widget.
Tap Show and choose an option.
- Next up shows when your next thing starts.
- Next handoff shows when you next drop off or pick up.
- To-dos left shows how many are due today.
- Things left shows how much of today is still to come.
Android has no lock-screen widget, so the circle and the lock-screen temperature are iPhone only. If you would rather keep event titles private when the phone is locked, open Settings → Reminders and turn off Show event titles on the lock screen. The widget then shows only times and first names.
What a child sees
When a child is signed in, the widget shows only their own day, in bigger type. It does not show other family members, to-dos or hints.
Taps and the occasional hiccup
- Tap an event to open it, dinner to open the meal planner, or what is due to open your to-dos.
- Tap later › to open beanies on the Nook.
- If the widget says open beanies to refresh, it could not read its information. Opening beanies fixes it.
- If it says sign in to see your day, you are signed out. Open beanies and sign in.
The widget’s copy of the day stays on your phone. It never includes money information, and it is removed when you sign out.