Widgets in iOS/iPadOS 14 and MacOS 11 are an expansion on the widgets in Dashboard. Essentially they are windows into different apps as seen here. Widgets come in different sizes and shapes, can be stacked on top of one another and depending on the OS can appear on the desktop or in the Control Center. Clicking or touching the widget opens the full app.
If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?
