Apple purportedly planning on ‘major changes’ for the lock screen in iOS 16

In his latest Power On Newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says that Apple is planning “major enhancements” for the lock screen in iOS 16, including wallpapers that have widget-like capabilities. iOS 16 will be previewed at the Worldwide Developer Conference, which starts June 6.

Here’s more from his report: Further, I’m told iOS 16 builds in future support for an always-on lock screen, something Apple was originally planning for last year’s iPhone 13. This would allow the iPhone to turn down the frame rate significantly on the lock screen and display quickly glanceable information—similar to newer Apple Watches.

I’m told to expect the always-on mode as an exclusive to the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models, codenamed D73 and D74, if the feature ends up making the cut. As I’ve discussed previously, other iPhone 14 Pro features include a new front-facing camera and Face ID cutout, an A16 chip and a 48-megapixel back camera. There’s also the possibility of sending emergency texts over satellite networks.

Apple will host its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in an online format (as it has since the global COVID pandemic) from June 6 through 10, free for all developers to attend. 

WWDC22 will, of course, showcase the latest innovations in iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS, while giving developers access to Apple engineers and technologies to learn how to create apps and interactive experiences.