Hands-On With the New iOS 16 Lock Screen - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Hands-On With the New iOS 16 Lock Screen

iOS 16 introduces some major changes, including a total overhaul for the iOS Lock Screen. The Lock Screen looks different, it's more customizable, and it can do more than ever before, so we thought we'd do a quick hands-on video to give MacRumors readers a first glimpse at the revamped Lock screen.


The Lock Screen can be customized with unique fonts, colors, and, for the first time, widgets. On an iPhone running iOS 16, just unlock it and then long press to get to all of the various customization options.

Many of the photos that you set on the Lock Screen are dynamically displayed in front of the time, or you can have your Lock Screen shuffle between multiple photos. You can choose a custom date and time, changing the color and the font, and you can apply Photo styles to Lock Screen images.

You can set up multiple Lock Screens and then swap between them with a swipe, and you can assign Lock Screens to different focus modes.

Most notably, the Lock Screen now supports widgets. You can add widgets that display information like the weather, time, date, battery level, calendar events, alarms, time zones, Activity ring progress, and more, with Apple making a widget API available for developers.

Live Activities, another new feature, helps you keep track of things that are happening in real time like sports games right from the Lock Screen, and there's even a Lock Screen gallery that lets you quickly and easily change the look of your iPhone.

With the Lock Screen changes, Apple also overhauled notifications. Incoming notifications are now shown at the bottom of the display, leaving your Lock Screen clear so you can see your widgets.

We'll have tons more on iOS 16 in the coming days, so make sure to stay tuned to MacRumors.

Related Forum: iOS 16

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple Working on All-New Operating System

Wednesday July 29, 2026 11:39 am PDT by
Apple is developing an all-new operating system that is essentially a mix of tvOS, watchOS, and iOS, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In a report this week, he said the operating system will feature a grid of icons, widgets, and apps, along with customizable clock faces. The new software platform is intended for Apple's long-rumored smart home hub. With built-in facial recognition,...
imac video apple feature

Apple Made Its Second-Biggest Acquisition Ever This Year

Wednesday July 29, 2026 12:03 pm PDT by
Apple this year acquired Israeli startup Q.ai for close to $2 billion, according to the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone maker Beats in 2014. This is also the largest known Apple acquisition since the company purchased Intel's smartphone modem business and patents for $1 billion in 2019. Q.ai...
Dynamic Island iPhone 18 Pro Feature

iPhone 18 Pro: Twelve Changes Coming to Apple's Next Flagship

Thursday July 30, 2026 3:43 am PDT by
We're less than two months out from the launch of Apple's premium next-generation smartphone lineup, and while we're not expecting a dramatic change in terms of functionality, there are still several enhancements rumored to be coming to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth noting is that Apple is reportedly planning a major change to its iPhone release cycle this year,...

Top Rated Comments

sniffies Avatar
54 months ago
It's unbelievable that after all these years, Apple still refuses to let us customize the two icons at the bottom.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
54 months ago
Everything on the LOCK screen should be optional. Why would they put flashlight and camera buttons, or music app controls on the LOCK screen that should be LOCKED. The entire point is to not accidentally push a button. It boggles my mind. I get that some people want quick access, but at least make it optional.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Joosst Avatar
54 months ago
Call me conservative but I preferred the time when good designers just came up with the best idea. I don’t believe this level of aesthetic customisation is necessary at all for the average user.
Functionally it would make sense (being able to change the flashlight button etc.). But why should users be able to pick fonts? Couldn’t Apple just choose the best one?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
54 months ago

Even if they did, I’m sure you would somehow still find something to nitpick
It's almost as if there's always room for improvement...
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HQuest Avatar
54 months ago
Horrible font choices, no option for resize these fonts, only one picture for both lock and home screen, limited count of widgets and no choice of placement for any of the items (date/time/sunset/sunrise, clock, widgets) other than wherever Apple felt like should be. For a oh-so-much-praised-revamped-redesigned-new Lock Screen, as is, looks like garbage and a move backwards. Great ideas, sub-par implementation.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
turbineseaplane Avatar
54 months ago

What's up with those font choices and colors? Looks ugly AF.
When I saw those fonts I was immediately hoping you could customize that further.

Those were the most vanilla milk toast boring choices -- killed the whole concept for me there
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

🔗 Related Apple News & Rumors

Stay updated with the latest Apple ecosystem news and verified rumors