It's easier to get free Apps and games on Android. [removed]. Everyone I know who has Android does just that. Widgets are not a big battery drain. I have lots of widgets and Apps and get through a full day of usage (3-4 screen-on; max brightness).
They reload everytime you go on the homescreen page it is located. At least every single phone I have used with Android did that.
They won't do that if you don't set them to do that. As for widgets for music and system info, you're probably using more power swiping through the home-screen than the widget is by updating a few strings of data.
Since every widget now only does that? You are using examples to make it seem better, but in most cases widgets have animations and pull several things from the web. They aren't all as harmless as you think to battery life.
So, as to widgets, Apple does have an answer, and they've been showing it off since the iPhone 4S shipped. It's Siri. Why do people like widgets, besides some being designed in an appealing way? It's because they show information that they care about. Apple today made it obvious that Siri does the same thing. I've been looking for a great sports scores widget (I still haven't found one), and I would love what Siri does. It gives you the information you want, when you need, without being there all the time. I know this sounds like a bit of a stretch, but think about all of the newer things Siri does. Sure, having to use your voice is a step deeper than widgets, but it isn't much more complicated than swiping to the homescreen with the widget.
By passive refresh I was referring to widgets that use data. Any widget that needs data like Facebook, weather, email, etc. can be set to refresh on time intervals instead of actively. My second sentence was about widgets that don't use data. Animations? I've seen interactive/scrollable widgets, but few with animations for the sake of appearance. They're common in HTC Sense, but even those widgets allow you to disable their effects. As for scrolling/interaction, you'd use even more battery opening up the respective app and scrolling/doing things there. Not being able to do that from the home-screen sort of nullifies the whole point of the widget.
My entire reply can be summed up either by JKK's post on siri or just by posting a random article about widgets and battery issues on Android, but what will that do? I don't want to argue/discuss this anymore. Its a dull topic.
