With iOS 16, Apple introduced a completely new look for the Lock Screen complete with widgets and customization capabilities, and in iOS 17, the Lock Screen is being further improved. Widgets are more useful, and there’s a new mode that turns your iPhone into an information hub when not in use.
This guide highlights everything new with the Lock Screen in iOS 17.
Near by
StandBy is a Lock Screen mode that activates when the iPhone is plugged into the charger and placed in landscape (or landscape) orientation. It works with MagSafe chargers, arguably the most useful way to use it, but it also activates with Qi-based wireless chargers or Lightning chargers.
If you have an Apple Watch, this mode is similar to Nightstand mode, but it can do more than Nightstand mode can.
There are a number of different StandBy screens you can choose from, some of which are customizable, and some that require unlocking the iPhone.
- Dual widget stack – With this StandBy screen, you can swipe through widgets at will. You can set up two separate widget stacks with multiple Home screen widgets, displaying two sets of information side by side. You can customize the widgets in each stack and swipe through each side individually to change them.
- image – One of the StandBy screens shows content from your Photo Library, with the current time overlaid in the top right corner. You can see the date and location of your photos if you tap, and to use this feature, the iPhone must be unlocked so that no one can see your photos without your permission. You can swipe to change between themes like Favorites, Nature, Pets, Cities and People. You can hide any topics you don’t like and add additional albums.
- Time – The Time StandBy screen shows the time and information such as the current weather, the date or when your next alarm is set. You can choose digital or analog time and there are four digital themes including Standard Digital, World, Sun and Drift. Float shows time in large bubble number with customizable colors, Solar has more standard fonts with solar flare design in different colors and World shows time with world map Your current gender and location are highlighted. The Analog theme has customizable accent colors and the Digital has bold numbers with different color options.
With all of these StandBy screens, you can swipe left or right to swap between one of the three display options, then you can swipe up and down to choose what’s shown. So if you’ve set up different Time screens, for example, you can swipe to change between digital and analog.
Notification
Incoming notifications are displayed in full screen when you leave the iPhone in Idle mode. So if you get an iMessage for example, it will pop up with the person’s name and the Messages icon to let you know you have a message.
Content that’s not normally displayed in notifications won’t show up in Idle unless you’re nearby and have unlocked your device with Touch ID or Face ID.
Customize Standby
On any StandBy screen, you can long press to open options to customize what you see. For example, long press either widget on the widgets screen and you can select the widgets you want to see.
There are customization options for almost all StandBy display options, and you should swipe through and long press where appropriate to change the settings to meet your needs.
Standby is always on
With iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max (and future iPhones), Standby is more useful thanks to the always-on display. Standby is always on and works on these devices without interacting with the iPhone.
On iPhones that don’t have always-on display technology, you need to tap the screen to activate it, as it turns off after a short period of time. You can use StandBy with all iPhones, but it’s a better experience with an always-on display.
Lock Screen widgets were introduced with iOS 16, but in iOS 17, they’re interactive, making them much more useful. On iOS 16, tapping a Lock Screen widget launches the accompanying app, but that step isn’t necessary for some widgets whose tasks you can complete without the app.
For example, you can mark a task right in the Reminders widget, or use the Home widget to control smart home devices without opening the Home app. Apple apps have interactive features, and third-party developers also have APIs to apply interactivity.
Interactive widgets are available on the Lock screen and the Home screen, so they can do more wherever you’re using them.
Read more
You can find more information about the new features in iOS 17 in our iOS 17 summary.
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