Skip to Content

iOS 16 Lock Screen Widget Lets You Quickly Open Any App

A new iOS 16 app lets users open any app of their choice directly from their Lock Screen without ever needing to navigate their iPhone.

ios 16 lock screen widget launchify
The app called "Launchify" lets users configure one or more iOS 16 Lock Screen widgets that directly open any app of their choosing. Users can create a widget to quickly open Messages, Twitter, the Phone app, or Apple or Google Maps, for example.

While iOS 16 includes a redesigned Lock Screen with new customization features, Apple does not allow users to replace the flashlight and Camera app shortcuts with custom apps. Users can, however, customize a wide range of visual elements on the Lock Screen, including the font and color of the time, custom wallpapers with a depth effect, and more.

Launchify is available for free on the App Store but features an in-app subscription that enables more advanced features, such as adding more than one app shortcut on the Lock Screen.

Related Forum: iOS 16

Popular Stories

Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

Apple Planning 'MacBook Ultra' With Touchscreen and Higher Price

Sunday March 8, 2026 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is planning to launch an all-new "MacBook Ultra" model this year, featuring an OLED display, touchscreen, and a higher price point, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Gurman revealed the information in his latest "Power On" newsletter. While Apple has been widely expected to launch new M6-series MacBook Pro models with OLED displays, touchscreen functionality, and a new, thinner design...
imac video apple feature

Apple Unveils Seven New Products

Friday March 6, 2026 11:48 am PST by
Apple this week unveiled seven products, including an iPhone 17e, an iPad Air with the M4 chip, updated MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models, a new Studio Display, a higher-end Studio Display XDR, and an all-new MacBook Neo that starts at just $599. iPhone 17e features the same overall design as the iPhone 16e, but it gains Apple's A19 chip, MagSafe for magnetic wireless charging and magnetic...
ios 26 4 yellow

Everything New in iOS 26.4 Beta 4

Monday March 9, 2026 3:50 pm PDT by
Apple is continuing to test the iOS 26.4 beta, and the latest update is now available for developers and public beta testers. As testing goes on, there are fewer new features in each beta, but today’s release adds new emoji characters and a few other changes. New Emoji Apple added new emoji characters, including trombone, treasure chest, distorted face, hairy creature, fight cloud, orca,...

Top Rated Comments

oMc Avatar
46 months ago
I have an idea, we could place these four widgets at the bottom of the screen and call it a dock.
Score: 47 Votes (Like | Disagree)
46 months ago
This is a perfect example of a piece of software offering a subscription where it's entirely not necessary. If you want to use this app and are perfectly happy with the functionality it offers today, there should be an option to purchase it outright.

I understand that developers want to be paid for the ongoing development of their software and that makes sense if there are new features to be added in future. But when you're buying a set of features that are already there and you're happy to live with them perpetually, let's see a standard purchase option.
Score: 46 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ridge Racer Avatar
46 months ago
Yet another app where the AppStore description fails to mention anywhere what the limits of the 'free' downloaded version are and what you get with the in-app subscription.

Surely it should be an AppStore requirement that developers are up-front about what the app offers, its (free) limitations and what in-app subscriptions actually give you? Having to download an app just to find out this basic information is very annoying.
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
46 months ago
Subscription model for an “advanced version” of this, really?
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
46 months ago
No, you can't launch "any" app. I only see a list of apps that use a URL callback scheme. Also, a subscription? Fuggedaboutit.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
46 months ago
I don't do subscription apps. Developers have become too greedy.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)