Always-on display support for iPhone 14 Pro may be included in iOS 16

Apple's introduction of iOS 16 could include support for an always-on display, a feature that may arrive in hardware on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max later in 2022.

The refresh of the iPhone 14 lineup in the fall may include a change in display technology, with the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max rumored to offer a low refresh rate of 1Hz. To enable such a feature, it appears that Apple will be laying the groundwork in iOS 16.

According to sources speaking to Mark Gurman for the Bloomberg "Power On" newsletter, iOS 16 will include support for an "always-on lock screen." This would "allow the iPhone to turn down the frame rate significantly on the lock screen and display quickly glanceable information," he adds, similar to some Apple Watch models.

Gurman goes on to claim the feature was "something Apple was originally planning for last year's iPhone 13." Apple did include low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LPTO) display panels in the iPhone 13 Pro lineup, a technology that has the potential to offer an always-on display, but the included ProMotion support only goes as far down as 120Hz.

Expected to be unveiled as part of the WWDC 2022 keynote on June 6, iOS 16 is tipped to include refreshed built-in apps, as well as "new ways of interacting," but retain the same aesthetic as iOS 15.

According to Gurman, this could include updates to notifications iPad multitasking, and updates to the Messages and Health apps. The makeover for the lock screen will apparently involve "wallpapers that have widget-like capabilities."

Messages could gain "social network-like functionality, with big changes around audio messages. For tvOS, Gurman expects more smart home features, whereas macOS will redesign System Preferences to make it more like Settings in iOS.

14 Comments

wood1208 2930 comments · 10 Years

About 2 years ago

Hope, the pill-hole screen picture of iPhone14 as shown in article is same across all iPhone 14 models and the differentiation(and price) between PRO models and non-PRO models is 3 vs 2 cameras on back, refresh rates, etc.

slow n easy 400 comments · 9 Years

I have no interest in an always on display. I actually have both touch to unlock and raise to unlock turned off so that I actually have to press the sleep/wake button for my phone to wake up. I kept getting so frustrated and angry because every single time I mowed my lawn, my phone would call my emergency contact. I spent so much time and effort to stop that behavior and the only thing that worked for me was to either eliminate the emergency contact info altogether or not allow the screen to turn on by accident.

kidrock2199 143 comments · 10 Years

“a technology that has the potential to offer an always-on display, but the included ProMotion support only goes as far down as 120Hz.”

You mean 60Hz?

wonkydonkey 3 comments · 2 Years

kidrock2199 said:

“a technology that has the potential to offer an always-on display, but the included ProMotion support only goes as far down as 120Hz.”

You mean 60Hz?

No, totally wrong. It can operate at any refresh rate between 10hz and 120hz.

slow n easy said:

I have no interest in an always on display. I actually have both touch to unlock and raise to unlock turned off so that I actually have to press the sleep/wake button for my phone to wake up. I kept getting so frustrated and angry because every single time I mowed my lawn, my phone would call my emergency contact. I spent so much time and effort to stop that behavior and the only thing that worked for me was to either eliminate the emergency contact info altogether or not allow the screen to turn on by accident.

I don't see real use of Always on display in phone. I can see some use like raise to turn on display so you can see messages but for security/privacy, to attend the phone, you want to use authentication method to unlock it.