Widgets have always been one of the main differentiators for Android. They really shine on a tablet because you have a large screen that you can fill with news, weather, or useful utilities instead of app icons.
We've compiled a list of some of the best ways to spice up your screen with both good-looking and useful widgets from the Play Store. Whether you have a modest Nexus 7 or a Galaxy Tab S with a huge screen, they'll give your home screen some oomph. Also read: The 10 best Android apps of March.
AccuWeather
AccuWeather has completely revamped its widget with Lollipop in mind, and it looks beautiful. The white background and black text go well with the Google Now Launcher and other on-screen apps that have the Material Design look.
It's also handy because it puts the current temperature and a weather forecast for the next three days right on the home screen. This is usually exactly what you need, so you don't need to open the app. When you open the app anyway, you get to see an amazing amount of details about the weather, with forecasts, radar and videos.
AccuWeather(Free)
Numix Calculator Pro
It may not be the sexiest widget out there, but having a calculator on your home screen is very useful. If you use it often, get Numix Calculator Pro. It's a great example of Material Design and goes well with other apps with more or less similar looks.
The widget only performs basic calculations, so if you want to perform algebraic functions and such, you'll have to open the app. But it is very useful to have it as a widget so that you can do some quick calculations. You can keep the answer handy for later.
Numix Calculator Pro (€0.89)
You may want to have a few more different things on your home screen. If so, swipe down the Pinterest widget and resize it to your liking. It can fill most of the screen if you want to, giving you instant access to all sorts of home decorating, fashion and parenting ideas.
You can favorite and re-pin items so you can keep an eye on all those other cool widgets, making multitasking (or getting distracted) even easier.
Pinterest (Free)
Microsoft OneNote
Microsoft's OneNote has become a solid option for taking notes and organizing all your files on Android. The OneNote widget makes good use of colored icons to help you quickly find what you're looking for.
The colors correspond to items you've created in OneNote, so you can immediately see what a note is about. If you prefer to use Evernote or Google Keep, these apps also have widgets, but Microsoft has implemented it really well and is really pushing its cross-platform strategy.
OneNote (Free)
Google Drive
Google Drive has a bunch of good widgets instead of one great one, but when you combine them, they can really boost your productivity on your tablet. One of the widgets allows you to drop one or more direct links to a specific folder. Or if you want to organize photos into specific folders, use the snapshot widget to open the camera, which will then drop that photo into the pre-selected folder.
The long bar also puts commands for uploading, adding a photo or creating a new Doc, Sheet or Slide on the home screen.
Google Drive (Free)
