Since the beginning of June, developers have been able to test the beta versions of iOS 16 to customize their applications. It’s been standing for a few weeks public beta available to all interested and brave users. One of the greatest innovations in new iOS, to be completed in the fall, is the revised lock screen. Reorganized notifications are just a small detail of what’s new. Here you can find out what else is hidden in the settings and how you can use the features of the new lock screen.
iOS 16: new lock screen at a glance
The most obvious change to the new lock screen is the notifications that now appear at the bottom of the screen. Due to the larger clock, the visible area at first glance for messages is reduced. This can quickly lead to wanting to turn off spam completely to reduce the overall volume. As usual, you can easily do this by moving a spam message to the left and turning off future display in the options. The well-known “planned summary”, which has already been published in iOS 15 was present and can be turned on in settings can help with cleanup.
The first real novelty are the so-called live activities. give it a first taste Apple even now. So you can follow the timer or snooze live alarm on your lock screen. In a later update to iOS 16, third parties will also be able to use Live Activities in their apps. This should appear later this year.
The option is aimed, for example, at developers of sports apps, which could display the live status of a football match. But apps like Uber or Lyft can also show the current status of a named car. This information is available for retrieval directly on the lock screen. An application no longer needs to be explicitly opened over and over again.
Multiple lock screens for your iPhone
The biggest new feature is undoubtedly the lock screen customization in iOS 16. For example, you can set multiple lock screens. All you have to do is keep your finger on the lock screen for a long time after unlocking. Then you not only have the option to create a new screen, but also to switch between them.
The first step in creating a new lock screen is to choose the background. Apple offers a variety of pre-made suggestions here, but you can also easily select one or more of your own photos.
Once you’ve decided on a background, you can adjust the vintage design, among other things. There are different fonts and colors to choose from. But there is another important novelty.
The iPhone maker has escaped complications in the apple watch Get inspired and place them on the lock screen of your smartphone in the form of widgets. The company makes it easier for developers. Developers can use the same technique for iOS 16 and Apple Watch complications. There should soon be a plethora of widgets available on the iPhone.
Apple already provides several widgets out of the box, which should suffice for most everyday purposes. Beside climate you can also add a calendar, reminders, activity rings or the status of your smart home, among other things.
Above the time, you can display not only the date, but also brief information on a single line. Below the time there is room for up to four larger widgets. If you choose two larger elements, there is only room for two widgets.
Some observers suspect that these widgets in the Always-on display expected for iPhone 14 Pro could be seen permanently. To see the next event on your calendar, you may not even have to wake up your smartphone screen.
