Guides
Parts of Smile are fiddly, because iOS does not let one app open another without help. Everything that takes more than a tap is written down here, in order, with the screenshots from the app itself.
New to Smile? Start at the top and work down. The first three get you a working launcher.
Add a Smile widget to your home screen The five taps that put a Smile widget on your home screen, and which of the four sizes to pick. 2 min Add your apps Simple mode opens the 136 apps Smile already knows. Advanced mode opens everything else. How to tell which one you need. 5 min Set up seamless launching The one-time Shortcuts automation that stops the Shortcuts app flashing up every time you open something. Different on iOS 27. 6 min Make a shortcut for an app Smile does not know Apple’s Shortcuts app can open any app on your phone. Build one in five steps, then hand Smile its name. 4 min Set daily limits and a breather Reminders after so many opens, hard blocks that hide the app until tomorrow, and a pause you have to sit through first. 5 min Customise how your widget looks Font, size, weight, colour, case, alignment, spacing, themes, and one appearance shared across every widget. 6 min Make a widget transparent Screenshot your wallpaper, tell Smile where the widget sits, and it disappears into the background. 8 min
Would rather watch it
There is a full video walkthrough covering widget setup, adding shortcuts and troubleshooting. Transparent backgrounds start at 9:11.