If the rumors are true, the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will arrive with Always-On Display functionality, and the latest iOS 16 beta includes updated wallpapers to work with this feature.
Last year’s iPhone 13 Pro / 13 Pro Max were the first to feature a high refresh rate of 120Hz. Because high refresh rates eat up a lot of battery power, Apple has equipped phones with LTPO panels that allow for a dynamic refresh rate that changes based on what’s on the screen.
One of the limitations is that phones are only capable of lowering the refresh rate to 10Hzso presumably the iPhone 13 Pro / 13 Pro Max will not receive the always-on display feature.
The iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max are rumored to have screens that will allow a refresh rate of 1 Hz and this will make it possible to adopt an always-on display without increasing power consumption.
iOS 16 has introduced a customizable lock screen and this is further proof that Apple is laying the groundwork for the feature.
On the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, the always-on feature will presumably allow you to view widgets that display battery levels, alarms, weather, calendars, and other information while the screen remains at a low brightness level. It will be possible to activate a setting to hide sensitive data so that it does not appear on the lock screen.
9to5Mac has found evidence in iOS 16 code that System wallpapers are prepared for always-on display feature.
Native wallpapers now have a new state that has items grayed out. The medium points out that the wallpapers in the resting state are similar to the faces of the Apple Watch when the always active mode is activated.
Apparently, when users turn off the iPhone 14 Pro screen, the new sleep state will be enabled. 9to5Mac has managed to reproduce the behavior.
That means the wallpaper will still be somewhat visible in always-on display mode and the screen will probably also show the clock and widgets and will return to full brightness when the phone is unlocked.
The regular models — the 6.1-inch iPhone 14 and 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Max — will reportedly have 60Hz displays, ruling out the possibility of them supporting the always-on display feature.
The 6.1-inch iPhone 14 Pro and 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Pro Max will also likely feature a new chip, faster RAM, a higher-resolution rear camera, and a new front design.
