The lock screen in iOS 17 for the first time in 16 years will become useful: the iPhone will have a special mode while charging

Since the release of the first iPhone, Apple has never fundamentally changed the lock screen. Yes, Widgets added to iOS 16 and new settings for wallpapers, but it was still the same lockscreen familiar from other versions of iOS. Given the increased size of the iPhone, some useful buttons and more informative widgets have been asking for a long time on the lock screen. For example, now for smart home control you need to unlock your iPhone, go to the appropriate application and perform the necessary actions. In extreme cases, you can use Siri for this. But we know that she’s a bit blunt and doesn’t always do things the way she should.

The new lock screen mode in iOS 17 will only be available on Always On Display-enabled iPhones

Apparently, Apple realized this and decided to add to iPhones with Always On Display support additional mode for the lock screen. When rotated to landscape orientation, smart home controls and various widgets with the necessary information will appear on the display. We figure out how it will work and whether someone really needs such a feature.

Lock screen in iOS 17

The idea of ​​the new mode is somewhat reminiscent of the Apple Watch. The owners of watches from the company from Cupertino know that when they place them on charge, the screen switches to a special horizontal mode, in which the current time and date are displayed on a black background in bright numbers and letters. For many users, this is a very handy feature that allows them to be used as a bedside clock at night. I touched the screen in the dark and saw all the necessary information without being blinded by the bright backlight.

Apple wants to turn the iPhone into an analogue of a similar smart home device

In the case of the iPhone and iOS 17, Apple does not want to be limited to watches. For more than a year, companies have been haunted by special smart home control devices from other manufacturers. In particular, Google Nest Hub. It concentrates in itself not only various control buttons, but also allows you to view all the necessary information in one place, such as weather, stock and currency rates, and the latest news.

But Apple does not have its own analogue. The most interesting thing is that the iPad cannot be turned into a similar gadget. None of the current Apple tablets allows you to keep the screen on all the time. You can, of course, turn off auto-lock, but this will definitely not do anything good for the display and battery. That is why the idea was born in Cupertino to complement the capabilities of the lock screen on iPhones with Always On Display. On the display without any problems and with minimal battery consumption will be displayed smart home controls and various widgets that you need, such as weather or calendar events.

The question remains how this will be implemented. At present, it is assumed that the new lock screen in iOS 17 will be when setting the iPhone in landscape mode on special stands. It is possible that this will be somehow tied to MagSafe. It’s not just that the iPhone 15 will support 15W wireless charging even on non-certified chargers.

Widgets on the iPhone lock screen

But the most important thing lies elsewhere. Is such a regime necessary and how relevant it will be. Apparently for the first time iphone lock screen becomes really useful. Sit you work, posted iPhone on a stand, turned it on its side – and before your eyes all the necessary information: weather, exchange rates, buttons for a smart home. You no longer need to climb into the menu, open Home app or just yell at Siri to turn on the lights. Everything can be done directly from the lockscreen. If a notification has arrived, you can immediately see it and respond if necessary. And all this can be done in landscape mode, in which the iPhone could not work before.

When rotated to landscape mode and placed on the stand, the screen saver will turn off, and only widgets and smart home buttons will remain on the desktop

It would be cool to crank out a similar chip also with the iPad. For example, when I work, the tablet is next to the laptop on a stand. And it would be perfect to display all the information you need. I would be happy to place the weather forecast on the display, control the music player and notes in which I fix the information I need. And thanks to the large screen, it would be convenient and really functional. But Always On Display на iPad no, that’s why it’s not possible at the moment.

In the case of the iPhone, you can only find fault with the size. Not all users have Pro Max models with a large screen. Use the usual 6.1 inch iPhones this may not be very convenient. How much information can fit in there? Weather, a couple of smart home buttons, and maybe a few currencies. There is simply no point in claiming anything more. If Apple again severely limits the size of these widgets, as it is now done on iOS 16 lockscreens, then you can place more of them. But will they be readable? Big question. Still, in this mode, you are at a distance from the phone, and it should be possible to see everything you need with the naked eye.

At this moment new lock screen mode for iPhone Pro looks very promising. It remains only to wait how it will be implemented and what information can be placed on it. We will find out about this already on June 5 during WWDC 2023. So there is not much time left to wait. Come in our chat in Telegram and tell me what you think about new mode for iPhone lock screens in iOS 17.