Apple is testing the ability to customise the always-on display on its iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max smartphones with the company’s latest iOS beta. The beta update to iOS 16.2, which was recently rolled out to users, reportedly includes toggles that let users hide the wallpaper and notifications while using the feature. The always-on display feature takes advantage of the OLED display on the iPhone 14 Pro models to let users check updates on their phone’s display with a dimmed version of their lock screen. The latest iOS beta allows users to see a clock and their Lock Screen widgets instead of the wallpaper.
According to a report by MacRumors, turning off two new toggles on the latest iOS 16.2 beta with always-on activated will make it so the user just sees a clock and their Lock Screen widgets when the phone is locked. The toggles are titled Show Notifications and Show Wallpaper, and can be turned on and off once the Always On Display feature is enabled.
Currently, on iOS, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max owners can have the always-on display that will show wallpaper and notifications. Users can also turn it off, leaving the phone’s screen blank when it’s locked and asleep, like the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, and older iPhone models.
While there are indeed some people that enjoy having their wallpaper always glowing at them (with accurate colours, despite the dimmed appearance), others find it to be a bit distracting. The display’s refresh rate is also reduced, to preserve battery, but the new toggles should enable even better battery savings thanks to most of the OLED display is turned off.
It seems like Apple has listened to feedback from users and is working on updating its always-on display feature. However, while the feature is currently available in beta testing, there’s no guarantee that it will be released when iOS 16.2 is rolled out. The company could decide to roll it out in a future update, to iron out any issues with the feature.