With iOS 10, a new widget system has been introduced that allows us to organize our favorite contacts in a much clearer way, and even access them more quickly than before.
This new level of customization goes far beyond call functions. With iOS 10 we will be able to create different icons for the same contact according to the way we usually communicate with each of it. Thus, we can generate icons to make a FaceTime call, send a Message or send an email to the person we want.
Converting or marking a contact as a favorite now makes the feature much more useful and personal, even more so than the quick actions of the 3D Touch feature in previous versions of iOS. On the other hand, we must not lose sight of the basic communication preferences that we have stored within the card of each of our contacts on the iPhone, will be crucial when customizing our favorite contacts widget. Therefore, first of all, make sure that you have added all the email addresses and phone numbers of your contacts, at least those that you are going to use as favorites.
Customizing your favorite contacts in iOS 10
Once you have already downloaded and installed iOS 10 On your iPhone, you must follow the steps below to personalize your favorite contacts through the Phone app on your device.
- Open the Phone app on your iPhone.
- Select the "Favorites" tab located in the lower left margin, but do not select any of the contacts that appear in the list.
- Click on the "+" button that you will find in the upper left corner of the screen.
- Now find the contact you want to add and select it.
- Choose the way you want to communicate with him directly: text message, call, video call or email.
- To choose a number or an email that is not the one that is shown by default, press the small arrow that points down and that you will see next to Message, Call, Video, or Mail and choose any number or email of those already you have stored on your iPhone for this particular contact.
- Return to the Favorites tab and the new shortcut to this contact will appear at the bottom of the favorites list.
- Now click on "Edit" in the upper right corner of the screen to delete or change the priority of the contacts.
When you've finished organizing your new favorite contacts, make sure the first four contacts on the list are your real favorites and then add them to the widget (although there can be up to eight), as we will see below. To do this, in the list, press Edit, hold your finger on the three-striped symbol that appears next to each contact, and drag it up or down until it is in the desired position. When you're done, press OK.
Favorites Widget Settings
This new favorites list is very useful because allows you to jump directly to communicate in a certain way with a specific personor. At the same time, you have the contacts with whom you communicate the most at hand. But now comes the best, configure the widget that will give you a real shortcut to what we just customized. To do this, you just have to follow the following steps.
- Open the widget screen on your iPhone by swiping right from the first screen.
- Scroll to the bottom of the widgets and press "Edit".
- Find "Favorites" and press the green + button to add it to your widgets.
- Use the triple bar that you see next to this widget to move it to the desired place.
- Click "Done" to save your changes. You should now see your new favorites widget. The first four are the first four you placed on your favorites list like this.
- Click on "Show more" to expand the widget to a total of eight contacts.
From the favorite contacts widget you can access up to eight contacts. You can go back to the phone app to add and rearrange your most important contacts or edit a contact. The changes will be reflected in the widget.