When I click on the widgets on my MacBook Pro it asks me to open them on my iPhone

Are these third party widgets? Also make sure Settings->Desktop & Dock->Widgets->Use iPhone Widgets is enabled.

Have you looked at the widgets available by right clicking the desktop and selecting Edit Widgets? Every app you have installed on your Mac that supports widgets will be available there. There are a couple of hundred available to drag to the Desktop on my Mac running Sonoma.

Use widgets on your Mac desktop - Apple Support

“Open [App] on your iPhone to continue”:

If you click an area of a widget that isn't interactive, the widget's app opens so that you can continue in the app. If the widget's app is installed on your iPhone and not on your Mac, the widget asks you to “Open [App] on your iPhone to continue,” so that you can continue in the app on your iPhone.

From: Use widgets on your Mac desktop - Apple Support

jinZero wrote:

But. At least one of the apps I’m using is native Mac and also iphone. The widget asks me to open the iPhone app. No thanks. I’ll just open the app on the task bar.

Until the developer alters the widget to get data from either app, the iOS widget will only work with the iOS app. That’s where you choose not to use the widget on macOS.

Apple is rightly famous for seamless beautiful design. This just isn’t it. If the app doesn’t work on desktop, don’t offer it as an option.

Apple has no idea if it will work correctly or not. As the usage spreads, they could add some flag to have the developer identify compatibility.

Hence making sure Use Iphone Widgets is enabled in settings. FWIW I have a good number of widgets on my Sonoma desktop and none of them tell me to open them on my iPhone. There may be a misunderstanding of how widgets work on Sonoma but not a bug or “lazy and unfinished design idea” for sure as the OP opines.

If it is an iPhone widget that gets data from the iPhone, then it would need the app on the iPhone to present data.

I have some iPhone Widgets that work on macOS because they get the data they present from the internet, not from the app on the iPhone.

If the widget is telling you to open the app on the iPhone, that is because it cannot do anything from that widget on the Mac desktop.

lkrupp wrote:

Well, I now have to apologize, get on my knees and issue a mea culpa for my complete, uninformed misunderstanding. One of the iPhone widgets on my Mac is Southwest Airlines, and when I put the widget on the desktop and click it, instead of opening the app on my Mac I get the open on iPhone warning. Why even have that widget then? Of what possible use would it be on my Sonoma desktop?

So in a reversal of opinion I now pretty much agree with the OP. This is dumb and stupid on Apple’s part. If an iPhone widget is not going to work on the Mac then prevent it from being installed in the first place. It is indeed a lazy and unfinished design idea. Nowhere in Apple’s widget support document mention this that I know of. Correct me if ‘m wrong again.

There is no way for Apple to know whether a third-party widget made for iOS will work on macOS. Some of them work because, as I noted, they get their information off the Internet and not from the app. Since most of the widgets were designed before the concept of having them run on macOS ever existed, Apple would either have to not allow any third-party Widgets until the developer add some sort of flag that says this will work on macOS, or allow them all and let users decide which ones are useful.

You can just turn off using iPhone widgets on your Mac.

Or, you can remove the ones that don't work.

It's really pretty simple.

Well, I now have to apologize, get on my knees and issue a mea culpa for my complete, uninformed misunderstanding. One of the iPhone widgets on my Mac is Southwest Airlines, and when I put the widget on the desktop and click it, instead of opening the app on my Mac I get the open on iPhone warning. Why even have that widget then? Of what possible use would it be on my Sonoma desktop?

So in a reversal of opinion I now pretty much agree with the OP. This is dumb and stupid on Apple’s part. If an iPhone widget is not going to work on the Mac then prevent it from being installed in the first place. It is indeed a lazy and unfinished design idea. Nowhere in Apple’s widget support document mention this that I know of. Correct me if ‘m wrong again.

How many iPhone widgets have you clicked on?

I just submitted feedback to Apple about this. You should do the same.

Feedback - macOS - Apple

I actually meant just seeing it on the Desktop. Anyway, I'm sure it's not for everyone. Just like many features. We have six Macs, four iPads and two iPhones. I can guarantee we haven't used all the features.

You're welcome.

But if that was equal to seemless design then the App Store would be full of apps that don’t work.

There are a lot of apps that are not compatible with older macOS versions or iOS versions. So, there are a lot that don't work.