Snap is an app that solves the widget problem

Widgets have been around from the first days of Android, but they’ve always been just as problematic as they are convenient. Sure, they give you instant access to a variety of app features at the touch of a button, but they take up precious homescreen space and have a nasty habit of hogging memory and sucking battery. Moreover, in an age when app launching is virtually instantaneous, how much time and energy are you really saving with that Evernote panel?

Developer Francisco Barroso has been looking for a new and more natural way to incorporate widgets into the Android operating system. His solution? Instead of lodging them in the home screen to steal potential space from apps, his app Snap places them inside the pull-down notifications menu. It’s a simple little change, but think of the utility of it. How many times do you access your notification toolbar just to clear it? Moreover, this notifications menu is available from within any app, allowing you to access the features of the apps you love to use frequently without stopping what you’re doing and backing out to the home screen.

 If you want to give Snap a spin, check it out in the Google Play Store by clicking the button below.The default version of the app is free, but if you want to squeeze more than three widgets into your notifications toolbar, then you’ll need to fork over an additional $2 for the premium version. Still, it’s pretty impressive to get this much control and quality for the price of a cup of coffee.

What are your thoughts of Snap? Will you be picking it up, or do you like your widgets where they are now? Let us know why in the comments!