An always-on display may allow basic information such as the time, date, and notifications to remain on the screen without having to press the power button. And the latest iOS 16 beta, released this week, revealed that Apple’s new iPhone wallpapers look optimized for a permanent treat. (Don’t think about waiting? Check out the best iPhone 13 deals available right now.)
As spotted by 9to5Mac (Opens in a new tab)The new iOS 16 wallpapers (which include a cool blast from the past) are actually multi-layer vectors, which can be viewed in different brightness modes. And the new status in Beta 4, titled “Sleep,” is particularly dark. As anyone with an Apple Watch knows, wallpapers in Always On mode are often darker versions of the standard image.
In fact, iOS 16 seems to be taking more than a few design cues from the Apple Watch. Not only are dynamic wallpapers like 3D Portrait Mode transferring to the iPhone, but the Fitness app will no longer require the use of the Apple Watch on iOS.
Quick access to basic information can only be good for creators – being able to quickly glance at the time on your iPhone while it’s sitting at your desk certainly seems more convenient than having to reach for the power button to flash it. Additionally, in his newsletter Power On (Opens in a new tab)Apple leaker Mark Gorman recently explained how the lock screen’s refresh rate can be significantly reduced, allowing the screen to display static information without much impact on battery life.
To be honest, the feature does not look so far Essential here as proven on Apple Watch. Not being able to look at the time on the watch without tapping on it (or using the “rise to wake” option) instead hampered its usefulness as a watch, you know. But if it can speed up the workflow of iPhone creators, it’s definitely worth it. Although time will tell if Always On actually arrives this year, it’s an exciting addition to the ever-growing pile of iPhone 14 rumors.
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