An always-on display on Apple’s upcoming iPhone 14 Pro models will reportedly keep iOS 16’s lock screen widgets visible on the screen at all times.
iPhone 14 Pro’s always-on display and lock screen widgets
Like the Apple Watch, the iPhone 14 Pro will be able to show widgets displaying weather, calendars, stocks, activities and other data while the screen remains at a low brightness and frame rate.
Always-on displays may pose a threat to privacy. Say you’re having a drink with friends and an upcoming task pops up on a Calendar widget. If you happen to be looking in the other direction at that exact moment, the person near you could easily glance at your private information. Thankfully, Apple has thought about that as well. Read:How to work with all-day and multi-day events in Apple Calendar
And there will be a setting—also like the Apple Watch—that keeps sensitive data from appearing on the lock screen for all to see.
What else is new for the iPhone 14 family?
Gurman has corroborated some of the other rumored new features of the iPhone 14 Pros: Amuch-improved selfie camera, a new main rear camera featuring anew 48-megapixel sensor, Apple’s new A16 chip and a hole punch + pill design. As for the non-Pro models, codenamed D27 and D28, theyshould stick with the same A15 chip as the iPhone 13. Apple will no longer be making 5.4-inch iPhone mini models so expect this year’s baseline iPhone 14 to feature a 6.7-inch screen. These new iPhones should launch in September. Read:40+ tips to save iPhone battery
How Apple’s always-on display may help save power
Although Gurman doesn’t expand on this, conventional wisdom tells us that Apple’s version of the always-on display will kick into action as soon as the device is locked. Instead of shutting down the display completely, a locked iPhone 14 Pro will keep those lock screen widgets shown. Wait, isn’t showing anything on a smartphone screen for longer periods the fastest way to drain the battery?
With an always-on display, that’s not the case. If you pay closer attention to the design of iOS 16’s lock screen, you’ll realize that the widgets are all monochromatic. Apple’s always-on display will most likely be capable of rendering a single color. Apple could also drastically lower the refresh rate for mostly static content, such as a locked iPhone 14 Pro screen, which could be one of the ways to help save power.
