# Introduction to home screen widgets

Home screen widgets allow users to view dynamic data from several widgets simultaneously without having to launch the widgets on full screen. A home screen widget displays a non-interactive subset of data generated by a full screen widget. For example, you can display market indicators from a stock market widget, local forecast from a weather widget, status updates from a social network widget, or the next appointment from a calendar widget.

Figure: Widgets on the home screen

When you develop the widget, you decide what data to display on the home screen. Users cannot choose the data to display. For information on defining the widget data to display on the home screen, see Creating content specific to home screen widgets.

Widgets display dynamic data on the home screen to provide users with the latest information without having to launch the widget on full screen. Although the data is dynamic, users cannot interact with it.

Users can select widgets on the home screen to launch them on full screen on compatible devices. If a device does not support home screen widgets, users can access the features of the widget by launching it in the full screen mode.

Some home screen widgets are pre-installed on mobile devices. Some pre-installed widgets cannot be removed, while some can be replaced by widgets that you enable for the home screen.

The following sections contain information about WRT widgets on the home screen:

- Life cycle of a home screen widget
- Home screen widget appearance