How To Put A Video As A Widget On iPhone?

Your favorite videos  should be close enough where you can see them at any time you want. This is why a video widget is a desirable thing and allows you to add and play videos that you cherish the most right from your iPhone home screen. 

But how exactly can you add a video widget on your iPhone home screen? Recent IOS updates have changed how it used to work before, but do not worry. In this article, you’ll learn how to put a video as a widget on the iPhone.

How To Put A Video As A Widget On iPhone?

Whether it’s a self-shot video or a movie you have just added to your favorite movie list, it can be added and viewed right from the home screen. However, it’s tougher now to do so than in the past when IOS versions were still below IOS 14. 

The implication is that up until IOS 14, iPhone users were able to add videos easily as there was a dedicated built-in video widget on the iPhone. If you can remember what happened with the cherished Up Next widget, then the same has happened to the Video widget. All of these came as a result of the release of IOS 14. 

While we wait for Apple to shed more light as to why the solemn decision was made to scrape the video widget, many users are also expectant of what IOS 15 holds this coming fall, earnestly  expecting that the video widget be restored, among other scraped features.

With that said, you’d have already understood that only IOS versions lower than IOS 14 can still add a video widget as a native feature while users running IOS 14 can make use of a work around packaged as you continue to read.

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If you run IOS 10.2 and later excluding IOS 14, follow the below guide to add a video widget on your iPhone. If you do not fall under this category, unfortunately, you cannot downgrade your IOS version, please skip this step;

• Swipe down then right on your iPhone Home Screen. The swipe gesture will open the widget section
• Scroll down, tap on More Widgets
• You’ll find the Video widget.
• Tap on the ‘+’ located to the left of the icon
• Tap on Done and the video widget will be added to your widget screen.

You can now go ahead to add your favorite videos to the widget, you can as well view and watch them from your Home Screen.

Now that’s for users who’re yet to migrate to the current IOS version. If you couldn’t benefit from that by virtue of running IOS 14, maybe doing this will help you play videos from your Home Screen just as obtainable with the Video widget feature.

To do this you’ll be needing a third party app, the one I’ll be illustrating has been tested and works really well. Follow the below guide;

Video Widget with You Widget

The Youwidget app is a third party app freely available on the App store that allows you to play videos right from your Home Screen, but hosted on the YouTube platform.

Sure, that wasn’t what you were expecting but trust me, it works really well and more over there’s really no choice left to fall back to or none that comes even close to it. However, make sure you’re running IOS 14, that’s the version that makes this method possible.

First, you need to have your videos moved to YouTube, actually to a YouTube channel. This would be for Videos you made yourself, probably fun moments with family or friends or some other memories that are worth watching from your iPhone Home Screen. Whereas for real movies, and even TV shows, you can easily find those on YouTube except for some, but hardly would there be. 

Creating a channel isn’t a big deal if you use YouTube and who doesn’t? Last I checked 122 million people actively use YouTube and I’m in no doubt that you make up that number too. To create a channel on YouTube;

• Sign in to your account 
• Tap on your profile icon
• Tap on create channel and upload the videos of your choice
• Next is to set the videos you upload to the channel to be private. You don’t want foreign eyes seeing your private content. Sign in to YouTube Studio
• From the left menu tap on Content
• Select the video contents you want to set to private.
• Tap on Visibility
• Choose Private.

With that out of the way you’re good to go. Follow the below guide to begin viewing your videos from YouWidget on your Home Screen in only 4 steps;

• Download YouWidget from the App store
• You’ll need to supply your YouTube login details. Don’t worry, your data is shared and in safe hands
• Search your YouTube video upload feed and that’s all!

You can now access your most cherished videoed moments right from your convenience as a widget. And for TV shows and other media aired on YouTube, you can as well view them from your Home Screen.

Just like every other widget, even those native on iPhone, you have three sizes for your videos to choose from and even better you can customize it to suit you. 

However, while there is a free plan available, the YouWidget plan is not a free app. Monthly, yearly and lifetime premiums are available, only select the plan you think is best.

Can You Set a Video as A Widget on Your iPhone?

Yes and No. Yes only if your iPhone is running IOS versions lower than IOS 14 but not lower than IOS 10.2. Only the enclosed IOS versions mentioned still have the native ability to show videos as widgets on your Home Screen.

No, because IOS 14 came and threw away what was fun about using the iPhone, widget wise – the likes of the Up Next widget and the video widget, there could be more. Also App developers are yet to come up with a suitable widget app suitable for IOS.

Apple replaced the Video app on iPhone to Apple TV with the release of  IOS 14, and is yet to say why. That was the major event that happened. Just so you know, sooner or later there may not be a video widget anymore on the iPhone.

Conclusion

You would have already seen that there’s no built-in way to put a video widget on an iPhone. Users can only rely on work arounds to playback their most cherished video content from their iPhone Home Screen and we’ve done justice to that. Use the simplified guide above on how to put a video as a widget on iPhone to access your videos with one tap.