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

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.