Widgets

Cakeday extends upcoming birthdays to the Home Screen, Control Center, and Apple Watch so key dates stay visible throughout the day. These surfaces honor the app’s date format preference and refresh automatically after data changes.

Home Screen Widgets

Cakeday offers multiple Home Screen sizes for both glanceable and list-heavy layouts:

• Small: Focuses on the next upcoming birthday with avatar, name, days remaining, and age.
• Medium: Shows the next 2 to 3 people in a compact upcoming list.
• Large: Expands the upcoming list with avatars, dates, countdowns, and group indicators.
• Extra Large: Available on supported devices for denser layouts and longer upcoming lists.

Control Center Controls

Cakeday supports several Control Center controls for high-frequency actions:

• Add Birthday: Opens the add-person flow directly.
• Upcoming Birthday: Shows the nearest upcoming birthday and can be configured for a specific group.
• Birthday Countdown: Pins one selected person and shows that person’s dedicated countdown.

These controls reduce the number of steps between intent and action, especially for users who manage birthdays frequently.

Apple Watch

Cakeday includes both a standalone Apple Watch app and watch-face complications. The watch experience can show upcoming birthdays, person details, and countdown information directly from your wrist.

Date format preferences are shared from iPhone to Apple Watch, so the watch app, widgets, and the main app stay aligned on date ordering.

Where supported, tapping a complication or list entry can navigate directly to the matching person. When a fuller interface is needed, Cakeday can continue that flow on iPhone.

How to Add and Configure

To add a Home Screen widget, long-press the Home Screen, tap the + button in the top-left corner, search for “Cakeday,” choose a size, and place it where you want it.

Control Center controls can be added from the system’s Control Center customization screen. Some controls support extra configuration, such as selecting a group or choosing a specific person.

Refresh Behavior

Whenever you add, edit, or delete a birthday in Cakeday, the app requests a refresh for related widgets and controls. Apple Watch data is also synced so the companion surfaces stay current.

Actual refresh timing still depends on system scheduling, battery conditions, and widget budget, so short delays can happen.