# WidgetBeats: Music Widget

> Home screen music control widget for Apple Music and Spotify. (iPhone/iPad app by Niels van Straaten.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/widgetbeats-music-widget/id6463719560 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Niels van Straaten](https://appshunter.io/developer/1592659282)
- Category: Music, Utilities, Music
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 1.41/5 from 17 App Store ratings · 79 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 16.0 · 39 MB
- Languages: English
- Released: 2023-09-18
- Data updated: 2026-06-10
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/widgetbeats-music-widget/id6463719560/reviews.md

## What is WidgetBeats?

Introducing WidgetBeats, the new music control widget for your Home Screen! Connect WidgetBeats with your Apple Music or Spotify accounts and gain easy access to play, pause, skip, and rewind your favorite tracks in real-time. 
Connect with your friends to see what they are listening in realtime and for FREE! 
WidgetBeats offers three visually stunning widget styles: Basic, Vinyl, and Cassette. 
Experience the nostalgic charm of a spinning Vinyl or retro Cassette widget, or keep it simple with a Basic widget. New widget styles on the way! 
Get WidgetBeats now and transform your music streaming experience.

## Key features

- Home screen music control
- Apple Music integration
- Spotify integration
- Real-time playback controls
- Friend listening activity sharing
- Multiple widget styles (Basic, Vinyl, Cassette)

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Lifetime | $2.99 | one-time |


## What do users think of WidgetBeats?

Overall sentiment: negative

**Pros**

- 🎨 Visually appealing widget design with vinyl and cassette aesthetics
- ✨ Cool home screen customization options
- 🎵 Apple Music integration works well when functioning
- 📱 Innovative concept for music widget display

**Cons**

- 🐛 Widget displays as blank or greyed out box
- 🐛 Widget fails to update when songs change
- 🐛 Transparent background feature doesn't work properly
- 🐛 Spotify integration not working despite being advertised
- 💳 Premium purchase restoration fails consistently
- 💳 Paid features don't work as advertised
- 🔋 Significant battery drain in background
- ⚠️ App becomes unresponsive and freezes system
- ⚠️ Poor customer support and no refunds issued
- ⚠️ Frequent breakage after iOS updates
- ⚠️ Widget controls don't function, only opens app

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Widget shows blank or white boxes instead of album art
- Widget doesn't sync with currently playing music
- Restore purchase button spins indefinitely
- Spotify connection fails with Google authentication error
- Vinyl animation doesn't spin or syncs incorrectly with artwork
- Widget freezes or becomes unresponsive
- App displays wrong song information
- Transparent background reverts to solid color
- Widget disappears after app updates
- Home screen tinting causes widget to display white boxes
- Music controls in widget don't work
- App prevents computer shutdown on Mac version
- Premium features unavailable after reinstallation

**Most requested features**

- Spotify integration and support
- YouTube Music support
- SoundCloud integration
- Musi app support
- Widget should open music app instead of WidgetBeats app
- Real-time widget refresh without manual tapping
- Support for home screen tinting customization
- Faster widget update synchronization

## Recent user reviews (10 of 79)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/widgetbeats-music-widget/id6463719560/reviews.md

### 1/5 — All it app purchase is gone

*2026-03-05, version 1.4.1*

I bought lifetime premium at 2024. After some time stopped to use this app. When returned back, all premium options are reset. Restore purchase button does not work. Just spinning “in progress”. I sent the letter to the developer, app support. Provided receipt and screens. Full ignoring.

### 2/5 — frustrating - don’t pay for it.

*2025-11-03, version 1.4.1*

This app is cool when it works. If you want to use the transparent background it will take days to update, tapping on the widget doesn’t actually refresh anything, deleting and re-uploading the widget only seems to make it take longer. wouldn’t recommend paying for it, can’t remember if there’s any free options.

### 3/5 — Great but widget doesn’t completely work

*2025-08-19, version 1.4.1*

Widget seems to only work when Home Screen customization is set to either light or dark for icons and widgets. If you choose to customize and “tint” your home screen to a color of your choice, the widget displays only white boxes and doesn’t work. I could be wrong but a simple solution or fix to the tinting issue for developers can be resolved by a Google search asking why widgets might display white when the Home Screen is tinted. Thank you for your help.

### 1/5 — Doesnt work on home screen anymore

*2025-02-23, version 1.4.1*

I bought the premium as I loved how it looked on my home screen at first.. then it just disappeared and became a grey widget with nothing, Waste of money and disappointed considering it looked really nice at the start

### 2/5 — Drains battery significantly in the background

*2025-02-23, version 1.4.1*

It drained about 20% of my battery in a single day of no use

### 1/5 — Won't even connect...

*2025-02-16, version 1.4.1*

I cannot sign in to Spotify due to an error in Google's "Use secure browsers" policy. (My Spotify account is set up through Google.) This looks cool, I just wish I could even try it.

### 2/5 — Spotify support

*2025-02-12, version 1.4.1*

Overall it’s a nice app and widget, however it’s been over a year and other apps like this already have support for Spotify, being able to sign in as a third party connection to allow it to work. I bought premium wanting both features to work as intended but they aren’t, it’s misleading..

### 1/5 — Doesn’t Work

*2025-02-11, version 1.4.1*

iPhone 15 Pro Max; 18.2.1; everything works until I add the widget. Once the widget is added to my Home Screen, its interface grays out and click on the widget only opens the WidgetBeats app. Worst money I’ve spent in a long time.

### 1/5 — I don’t even want to give 1 star.

*2024-10-17, version 1.4*

Just DL it on my new mac and the app lagged totally. Now even trying to restart or shutdown my computer. It won’t let me as the app’s close button grayed out so I can’t close/quit it.

### 1/5 — Widget doesn’t work

*2024-10-08, version 1.4*

Don’t waste your money. Widget doesn’t work.

## Frequently asked questions about WidgetBeats

### What does WidgetBeats do?

WidgetBeats provides a home screen widget that allows you to control your music playback. You can play, pause, skip, and rewind tracks directly from your device's home screen without needing to open the music app.

### What music services does WidgetBeats support?

The app connects with both Apple Music and Spotify accounts. This allows you to manage your music from either of these popular streaming services directly through the widget.

### Is WidgetBeats free to use?

The app is free to download and use, with options for in-app purchases. You can connect with friends to see what they are listening to in real-time for free.

### What are the widget styles available?

WidgetBeats offers three visually distinct widget styles: Basic, Vinyl, and Cassette. These styles allow you to customize the look of your music control widget to match your aesthetic preferences.

### Can I see what my friends are listening to?

Yes, you can connect with your friends through WidgetBeats to see what they are listening to in real-time. This social feature is available for free within the app.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.4.1 — 2024-11-03

Fixed an issue that was causing transparent widgets to not properly render on iOS 18 and newer versions.

### 1.4 — 2024-06-11

Discover a stunning new way to experience music with our latest update. Now, you can find a full-screen interactive Vinyl in the top right corner of the Home Screen. Simply swipe left or right to skip tracks, and move the tonearm to pause or play your current song.

### 1.3.1 — 2024-03-13

Get to know new Friends in the Friends tab! And how about music? We created a new tab "Discovery" where you can discover a lot of new songs every day!

### 1.3 — 2024-03-07

Introducing Friend Connections:
- Invite Friends: Easily invite friends and connect within WidgetBeats to share your now playing music in real-time.
- See What Friends Are Playing: Check out your friends' current tunes directly within the app or via a new home screen widget.
- Friend's Now Playing Widget: Add a widget to your home screen to always see what music your friends are enjoying in realtime

As usual we did some bug fixes

### 1.2.1 — 2023-11-15

Bug fixes.

## Apps similar to WidgetBeats

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [AI Playlist Maker: PlaylistAI](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ai-playlist-maker-playlistai/id1631703551) | 4.4 (683) | Free | Music |
| [LivePod - Widget for Music](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/livepod-widget-for-music/id6464291295) | 4.5 (27) | Free | Music |
| [Music Player - Music Widget](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/music-player-music-widget/id1639260168) | 4.5 (107) | Free | Music |

## More apps by Niels van Straaten

- [Widgelytics: Social Widgets](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/widgelytics-social-widgets/id1592659280)
- [PixelMagic: Photo AI Tools](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pixelmagic-photo-ai-tools/id1607535158)
- [Launchify Custom LockScreen AI](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/launchify-custom-lockscreen-ai/id1635545328)
- [Contactify: Lock Screen widget](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/contactify-lock-screen-widget/id1640305545)
- [Alfry AI: ChatBot Assistant](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/alfry-ai-chatbot-assistant/id1669560515)
- [Wallify Lock Screen Wallpapers](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/wallify-lock-screen-wallpapers/id6444838009)

All apps by Niels van Straaten: https://appshunter.io/developer/1592659282

## Related topics

[niels van straaten](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/niels-van-straaten) · [music widget spotify](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/music-widget-spotify)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-10.*