An update on WidgetScreen: widgets for your Mac lock screen
A few weeks ago I posted widgetscreen.app, a Mac app that puts glass widgets on your Mac lock screen. The response from this community made this absolutely take off, so I wanted to come back with an update. The main thing: WidgetScreen is still free. Everything that was free before is still free now, and I haven’t moved any existing features behind a paywall. The free version has also had a pretty big upgrade: Now Playing now supports scrubbing and volume control There’s a new easy-read mode for better legibility The UI and overall experience have been cleaned up a lot Lots of smaller fixes and improvements based on feedback from the last post I’ve also added an optional Premium tier for people who want to support the project. It’s a one-time $9.99 purchase, no subscription, and unlocks extra customisation like tinting, larger widget sizes, weather and Now Playing animations, and a few other nice-to-have extras. But the core app is still free, and I want it to stay useful that way. As a thank you to this community, here’s a 30% discount code for the first 30 people who want Premium: macapps30 Happy to answer questions, take feature requests, or hear feedback. A lot of what’s in the app now came directly from comments and feedback from people who saw the last post, so thank you again. Sam
Collected discussion
Nice, I just purchased it. Will test it out.
Thanks!
I'm not 100% I'll use it, but I still like to support smaller developers. Purchased and thanks for the discount.
Thanks so much, you’re great!
Great app! Keep up the good work!
Thank you!
Damn, that looks amazing!
Awesome app, been loving it so far! Quick question though, how many macs can this be installed on with one license?
At the moment it is 2
Just purchased the app!! Great slick design!! Thank you so much for making this app!!
Thanks so much!
Keeping the original feature set free after the app took off is rare — respect for that. One suggestion: a privacy option for the Calendar widget that shows busy/free or just an event count instead of titles. The lock screen is exactly the surface strangers see in an office or cafe, and right now the tradeoff is useful widgets vs meeting titles on display for everyone walking by. A question: how do you handle display sleep? Widgets are only visible while the display is awake, so is there a keep-awake-for-N-minutes-after-lock option (with the battery caveat), or does it ride the system timeout? And for the person asking about the price showing in pounds: Polar, the checkout provider, is a merchant of record and localizes currency and tax for your region — the base price is $9.99 USD.
Thanks! I’ll take the suggestion on board. I have another update in the works which includes things like lyrics on the music widget and more. There isn’t a ‘keep awake’ right now, I think it’s more sensible to let the user control when the lock screen sleeps rather than putting an overriding control in. There’s already a setting in macOS settings to choose when the screensaver turns off (which the widgets are also available on), for example.
This is a connection from Japan, I'm not using a VPN, but I'm getting £ payment. It's the same when I connect from the in-app purchase link. It's not clear why the amount is the same even if the currency unit is changed. The current currency conversion rate is $9.99 = £6.99. If we use the same $ for all countries, there will be no confusion. Well, maybe I am the only one confused.🤯
I have the app and love it. But what wallpaper are you using?
Thanks! This is the Sequoia dynamic wallpaper built into macOS
nice, will purchase right away
LOVE YOU AND THIS App SO SO MUCH. thanks for the code happy to be one of the first
Great idea!
Been a user since the launch, kudos for shipping awesome and thoughtful updates all the way. I haven’t bought the premium version (yet 😁 as I have crossed my monthly purchase limit) but will do it soon. Idea: What if we can add the feature to set/change screensaver right from the app? Not even asking for additional screensavers, just system ones but inside your app. For example, It makes more sense to see how well my widgets look with the new screensaver right there in the layout. What do you think?
Very cool, make the lock screen useful again. Will check this out
looks amazing!
great app!!
i love widgets. i guess u know that already
Easy buy! Like I mentioned on the original release post, you got me hooked on widgets from day one. Thanks for all the hard work, we see you!