Video: How to Get Widgets on Your Mac's Desktop

When MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera shares his apps and desktops during videos, he often gets questions about what he's using. Recently, he had an app that adds widgets to the Mac desktop that viewers were curious about, so he thought he'd do a dedicated video on what it is, how it works, and how to use it.


To get widgets on his Mac, Dan is using an app called WidgetWall, which is priced at $9.99 per year (or through Setapp if you use that). WidgetWall works as soon as you download it, putting popular widgets on your desktop, but you can customize what's available, the color, the size, the location, and more.

Available widgets include clock, weather, calendar, calculator, and music, along with a widget for bringing up ChatGPT. You can even add a row of apps that you access often, show off your photos, see your Mac's performance at a glance, and use a sticky note widget.

Make sure to watch the video to see the widget in action, and let us know what you think in the comments below.

Popular Stories

apple music chatgpt

ChatGPT's Apple Music Integration Is Now Live

Wednesday December 17, 2025 3:50 pm PST by
There's now a dedicated Apple Music app for ChatGPT, which allows ChatGPT to make music recommendations and build playlists. Apple Music can be added to ChatGPT through the Settings section in the Mac app, website, or iOS app. Apple Music is listed under the apps option, and connecting to it requires signing in with your Apple Account for authorization purposes. ChatGPT can be used to...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Features Leaked in New Report, Including Under-Screen Face ID

Tuesday December 16, 2025 8:44 am PST by
Next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will be equipped with under-screen Face ID, and the front camera will be moved to the top-left corner of the screen, according to a new report from The Information's Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu. As a result of these changes, the report said the iPhone 18 Pro models will not have a pill-shaped Dynamic Island cutout at the top of the screen....
top stories 2025 12 20

Top Stories: iOS 26.3 Beta, Major Apple Leaks, and More

Saturday December 20, 2025 6:00 am PST by
You'd think things would be slowing down heading into the holidays, but this week saw a whirlwind of Apple leaks and rumors while Apple started its next cycle of betas following last week's release of iOS 26.2 and related updates. This week also saw the release of a new Apple Music integration with ChatGPT, so read on below for all the details on this week's biggest stories! Top Stories i...
airpods pro 3 new blue

AirPods Pro 3's Static and Noise Issues Haven't Been Resolved

Thursday December 18, 2025 3:44 pm PST by
Since the AirPods Pro 3 launched, there have been complaints from users who have noticed a static-like sound or a crackling issue when using the earbuds, particularly when Active Noise Cancellation is on but no media is playing. Users have also run into strange high-pitched whistling sounds that happen intermittently. We shared the issues back in late October, and despite two subsequent...
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple's 2026 and 2027 Product Roadmap: Foldable iPhone, iPhone 18 Pro, M5 Macs, and More

Tuesday December 16, 2025 4:42 pm PST by
There has been a whirlwind of rumors over the last few days, sourced from leaked internal software designed for the iPhone and the Mac, and news sites like The Information. Below, we have a quick recap of everything we've heard this week, which serves as a guide to Apple's product plans in 2026 and beyond. We've organized the info by likely release date, though there are some products that...
ios 18 security update

Don't Want to Upgrade to iOS 26? Here's How to Stay on iOS 18 [Update: Now Unavailable]

Friday December 19, 2025 10:37 am PST by
Since the beginning of December, Apple has been pushing iPhone users who opted to stay on iOS 18 to install iOS 26 instead. Apple started by making the iOS 18 upgrades less visible, and has now transitioned to making new iOS 18 updates unavailable on any device capable of running iOS 26. If you have an iPhone 11 or later, Apple is no longer offering new versions of iOS 18, even though there...
iOS 26 Maps Glass

Apple Quietly Discontinued Flyover City Tours in Apple Maps

Thursday December 18, 2025 1:31 pm PST by
Apple Maps no longer offers a Flyover feature that provides users with automated tours of notable landmarks in major cities. The Flyover option appears to have been nixed around when iOS 26 launched, but its removal went largely unnoticed. Flyover city tours were introduced in 2014 with iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, using Flyover imagery to generate an aerial tour. Most cities with Flyover...

Top Rated Comments

Ankit1088 Avatar
35 months ago
Pretty cool, but I don't think I can get around the $9.99 yearly subscription.
Score: 51 Votes (Like | Disagree)
deebinem Avatar
35 months ago

Pretty cool, but I don't think I can get around the $9.99 yearly subscription.
This!

Call me old school, but if you give me a one-time purchase price, I might be more inclined to buy your stuff.
Score: 44 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alexandr Avatar
35 months ago
Aw, remember back in the day when we just had widgets on our desktops natively?..
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BrentT Avatar
35 months ago
I would rather pay once for an app than all these subscriptions. I think they count on folks forgetting to cancel.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
meson Avatar
35 months ago
Bring back Dashboard! What is old is new again!
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rpmurray Avatar
35 months ago

... which is priced at $9.99 per year ...
I was OK with the price until the "per year" part. Subscriptions are a hard pass.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)