[SC-CSTD] Lock Screen in iOS 16: Rita’s iDevice Advice for October 10, 2022

[Steve Cook]

Steve Cook
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Lock Screen in iOS 16:  Rita’s iDevice Advice for October 10, 2022

with iOS 16, iPhone users can customize the lock screen by choosing from different fonts and colors for the clock.  People will also be able to pin 'widgets,' which are essentially shortcuts to apps like the phone's calendar and fitness data tracker, to the lock screen.  Consider that the new software will let an iPhone user create a number of custom lock screens for different scenarios.  For example, a lock screen dedicated to work could show a wallpaper of your office building and contain a calendar widget with your next meeting appointment.  A lock screen for personal time could show a wallpaper of your dog and an exercise widget.  The idea is that people will be able to switch among lock screens to better accommodate their needs throughout the day.
lock screen, which lets you customize the look and information.  Images automatically get a depth effect that allows subjects to overlap the time and other info.  You can customize the font and color for the date and time, and add information widgets such as your calendar, activity rings, and widgets.  Apple's also added special dynamic wallpapers, like a weather wallpaper with animations that change with the current conditions, and you can set up multiple different lock screens and swipe between the Lock Screens,  to change them.
Apple Notifications and Focus enhancements:
Of course, your fancy new custom lock screen isn't worth much if it's covered by a flood of notifications, so Apple has changed the way alerts come in.  You will see a stack of rolling notifications from the bottom of the screen that updates as new notifications come in.  But it's the Live Activities API for developers that should make the biggest difference.  Instead of getting a new notification every time the information from an app changes (like tracking a sports score, food delivery, or Uber ride):  developers can make a single notification that dynamically updates during live events or breaking news.
Focus Mode will expand throughout your iPhone experience.  Your custom lock screen, including photos and widgets, can be matched to a specific Focus.
customization will allow you edit the Lock Screen almost any way you want.
It’s easy to customize the font, color, or placement of elements on your Lock Screen by tapping them. With multilayered photo effect, photo subjects are dynamically displayed in front of the time to make the subject of the photo pop.
In addition, you can also add widgets to the Lock Screen, and not only widgets made by Apple, but third-party widgets as well.

Notifications:
You can choose from three options for how notifications appear on your lock screen, two of which are designed not to take up much space.  There are three possible views for notifications on the Lock Screen: List view, Stack View, and Count view.  List, is the expanded, scrolling list of individual bubbles that has been present in iOS.  Stack is a small, stack of notifications.  They fade into the distance below, with the most recent notifications on top.  Count, places a small bit of text at the bottom of the lock screen showing how many notifications you have.  If you do not want anything cluttering up your custom lock screen, it could  minimize the clutter on your Lock screen.  If you want to change between views you can do it right on the Lock Screen.  When you're in Count view, you can swipe up or pinch out on the notification list to switch to Stack mode.  When you're in Stack mode, you can swipe up to see your notifications in List mode or pinch out to change the view to List.  In List view, you can pinch in or swipe down to switch back to the prior view.
You can also change the way notifications are displayed on the lock screen in the Settings app.  This is an easier method, pick the view you want from the images. Open Settings, then tap Notifications .  At the top of the screen you will find the options for Count , List , or Stack view, with icons indicating what they look like.  Pick the one you like and your Lock Screen will show that view the next time you lock your phone


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Lock Screen
Lock Screen gallery
For inspiration on how to make the Lock Screen your own, browse a gallery of many options, each with a unique backdrop, stylized view of the date and time, and information you can see at a glance.
Lock Screen switching

You can switch your Lock Screen throughout the day. Touch and hold it, and then swipe.

Lock Screen editing
It’s easy to customize the font, color, or placement of elements on your Lock Screen by tapping the element.
Stylized date and time
Expressive font styles and color choices allow you to customize the look of the date and time on your Lock Screen.
Multilayered photo effect
Photo subjects are dynamically displayed in front of the time to make the subject of the photo pop.
Suggested photos

iOS intelligently suggests photos from your library that look great on the Lock Screen.

Photo shuffle
See a set of photos shuffle automatically on your Lock Screen. Set the cadence for how often your Lock Screen updates with a new photo, or let iOS surprise and delight you throughout the day.
Photo styles
Apply styles to photos on the Lock Screen that automatically change the color filter, tinting, and font style to complement each other.
Widgets on the Lock Screen
Choose to display a set of widgets as part of your Lock Screen to glance at information like the weather, time, date, battery levels, upcoming calendar events, alarms, time zones, and Activity ring progress.
WidgetKit API
Glance at widgets from your favorite third-party apps. View widgets in a textual, circular, or rectangular format near the time to get information like weather conditions or progress on your goals.
Live Activities

Live Activities help you stay on top of things that are happening in real time, right from your Lock Screen.

Live Activities API
Follow an ongoing sports game or track the progress of your ride or order with just a glance. Glance at Live Activities from your favorite third-party apps with the new developer API.
Lock Screens made for Focus
iOS suggests a relevant set of Lock Screens for provided Focus options, such as a data-rich Lock Screen while you’re using the Work Focus or a photo Lock Screen while you’re using the Personal Focus.
Apple collections
Choose from a set of dynamic, classic, and landscape Lock Screens created especially for iOS 16. Apple collections include Lock Screens to celebrate special cultural moments, like Pride and Unity.
Astronomy
See the earth, moon, or solar system with a set of dynamic astronomy-themed Lock Screens that update with live conditions.
Weather
Glance at live conditions on your Lock Screen as the weather changes throughout the day.

Emoji
Create patterned Lock Screens based on your favorite emoji.

Colors
Choose a color gradient for your Lock Screen using your favorite color combinations.

New design for Now Playing
With Live Activities, you can expand Now Playing controls to a full-screen view that celebrates album art while you listen along.
New notification design

The use of bold text and images makes notifications visually pop.
Notification animations
Notifications, including your notification summary, now roll in from the bottom of your Lock Screen, making them easy to see at a glance as they come in.
Notification view on Lock Screen
Choose to view notifications on the Lock Screen in an expanded list view, stacked view, or count view. You can pinch to change the layout in context.
Lock Screen linking
Transform how your iPhone looks and functions at the same time by connecting your Lock Screen to your Focus. To activate a Focus, you can swipe to the corresponding Lock Screen.
Made for Focus suggestions in Lock Screen gallery iOS suggests a relevant set of Lock Screens for provided Focus options, such as a data-rich Lock Screen while you’re using the Work Focus or a photo Lock Screen while you’re using the Personal Focus.

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Lock Screen widgets are a little different than other widgets.
How to add Widgets to the Lock Screen:
Note:  When running VoiceOver, perform a one finger double tap gesture when the directions say to tap To edit your Lock Screen, swipe down from the top-center of your Home screen. Then long press on your Lock Screen until it enters "edit" mode.
Select a Lock Screen you wish to add widgets to.
Tap Customize.
Tap one of the two areas where you can add widgets. Start by tapping the date.
The Add Widgets menu will pop up. At the very top, There will be Suggestions. There may be different options depending on the apps you have resident on your iPhone.
Scroll down to see more options.
Tap on one to check out if it works for you.
Next, tap the rounded rectangle below the time.
Here you’ll see a slightly different selection of widgets. At the top, you will find some suggestions. Keep in mind that you don’t have to fill the entire space if you don’t want to.
You might have to delete a widget from the rectangle to add another one. If so, just tap on the minus button.
If you scroll down, you will see a list of apps; tap on one.
Here you will find a selection of widgets available for that app. Tap the one(s) you wish to add or drag them into the space.
When you are done, tap the Xor the background to return to the customization screen.
Tap Done.
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Notifications on the Lock Screen, will automatically start appearing at the bottom of your Lock Screen.
You can swipe up these notifications to view more of them and delete them, tap on them, and manage notifications on a per-app basis.
But along with these changes, Apple also added some new customization options for iOS 16 notifications. If you head to the Settings app and tap on “Notifications,” you’ll see three different options. Each of these options are for customizing the appearance of notifications at the bottom of your Lock Screen.
 
>From left to right: Count, stack, and list 
 
• Count : This replaces notifications on the Lock Screen with a simple piece of text that tells you how many unread notifications you have. You can swipe up to view a full list of your notifications. 
 
• Stack : This option takes all of the notifications from each individual app and “stacks” them up. So you have individual groups of notifications for each app on your Lock Screen and in the Notification Center. 
 
• List : This is the traditional iOS system for notifications from previous years. You’ll simply see a list of all your notifications that you can expand by swiping up from the bottom of the Lock Screen.
Notification on the Lock Screen is now near the bottom of the Lock Screen.  You can goto the bottom, and swipe left past the camera, flashlight, and then get to the Notifications.
Lock Screen Customization.  You long press on the time on the Lock Screen, the pick a background wall paper for the Lock Screen.
Then you can add Widgets.

Focus on the Lock Screen:
You can allow Notifications from specific people or specific apps, when a specific Focus is enabled.

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More Explanation of the Features for the Lock Screen:
Custom Lock Screens After you update to iOS 16, you'll be greeted by this massive change every time you pick up your iPhone. Even before you unlock it. The new Lock Screen is customizable, attractive, and has more useful information than ever. And with the awesome photo treatments, linked Focus modes, and Photo Shuffle, it's going to dynamically change throughout the day, too. It used to be that everyone with an iPhone had the same lock screen, only with a different wallpaper that was usually obscured by a massive list of notifications. Your Lock Screen as a truly personalizable, useful piece of smartphone real estate is a sea change.
tart customizing your Lock Screen, just long-press on it anywhere other than on your notifications. Your Lock Screen zooms out and the bottom of the screen has two buttons: Customize and a (+) button to add a new Lock Screen. You can have several Lock Screen setups and either switch between them manually (long press to get to this interface and then swipe left and right) or automatically (by assigning Lock Screens to specific Focus modes) You can also edit the current Lock Screen in the Settings app, under Wallpaper . To delete a Lock Screen, long press to enter the lock screen selection mode, swipe to the lock screen you want to remove, and long press on it. Select Delete Wallpaper from the bottom of the screen. 2. Choose a Lock Screen style Apple The first thing you should do when you make a new custom lock screen is to pick your wallpaper. Each style has several options to choose from. People: A Photos background that just starts with a filter on your Photos library for people. Photos: A photo background selected from your Photos library. Photo Shuffle: Automatically changes the background image throughout the day. You can adjust the frequency between Hourly, Daily, On Tap, or On Wake. You can also choose to use the Featured Photos automatically selected by the Photos app (and can select from broad categories) or pick photos manually. Emoji: Pick up to six emojis and they'll be made into a pattern. Weather: A dynamic background that changes to represent the current local weather. Astronomy: Shows a dynamic globe that shows the earth or a close-up view of your position on it (with live cloud data and accurate sunlight), the moon or a detail of it (with accurate moon phase), or the whole solar system. Color: Pick a background color and get a subtle gradient effect in six different styles. 3. Customize the time display Apple Once you've got a style picked out, the time is the first thing you'll want to customize. It's the largest element on your Lock Screen, and there a plenty of options to choose from. Tap the time to pull up the Font & Color picker. There are six font styles to choose from and over a dozen colors, plus a full-color wheel that lets you select any color. If you don't use Arabic numerals, tap the globe to switch over to Arabic Indic or Devanagari. 4. Choose your widgets Apple There are five widget slots to populate with real-time data from your favorite apps. Most of them are tappable: they show some basic information and launch the associated app when tapped. Apps that might provide sensitive info will not populate their information until Face ID recognizes you, just as notification details are hidden until you are identified. Above the time: There is room for a single thin horizontal widget-it doesn't have to be the date anymore! Below the time: There are four square/circular spots, but some widgets are double-wide to show more information. So you can end up with one, two, three, or four widgets here. There are widgets for lots of Apple's built-in apps like Calendar and Weather, but iOS 16 also includes a framework for developers to add their own. It's apparently almost identical to making complications for Apple Watch (though not "corner complications"), so there's a good chance that a lot of apps will have Lock Screen widgets. 5. Change options, filters, and more IDG For each Lock Screen style, there are a set of options to change. Enter the Lock Screen edit mode with a long press and tap Customize on the setup you want to tweak. For photos, you can swipe left and right to change filters. Tap the menu button (…) in the lower right to disable perspective zoom-the AI-driven feature that pulls the foreground subject out of your photo and places it in front of your time and widgets. You can switch between different Astronomy views, Emoji patterns, or Color gradients. For the Photo Shuffle screen, you can tap the button in the lower-left to re-select which photos you'd like to feature and how often they should change. 6. Choose how you want your Notifications to appear IDG The last thing to do in customizing your Lock Screen is to choose how you want notifications to appear. You don't do this in the Lock Screen customization area, but rather in the Settings app. By default, Notifications are shown in a new Stack format that shows the more recent notification on top and others fading into the distance behind it. You can swipe the stack down to see a Count of your notifications, or swipe the stack upward to see the full List as you would on earlier versions of iOS. But in Settings > Notifications you can change the default to any of these views. No matter which you pick, you can swipe up and down between them. 7. Optional: Link a Focus mode IDG If you're a fan of Focus, you can link a Focus to it. Just tap the Link Focus button at the bottom of the Lock Screen customization interface. Or, open Settings > Focus , select the Focus mode you want to link, and choose it in Customize Screens . This feature works in both directions! If your phone enters that Focus mode (automatically triggering Sleep during bedtime, or Driving while in the car), the associated Lock Screen will be applied. But if you long press on the Lock Screen interface and swipe over to manually select that Lock Screen, the focus mode will be enabled as well. So, your iPhone will switch over to your Work Lock Screen when the Work Focus mode is enabled, but you can enable the Work focus mode by switching to that Lock Screen, too.’

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How to Set Up a Weather Lock Screen on iPhone:

Not only will the Weather Lock Screen display your location and its weather conditions, but the background will also match the conditions. For example, if it's raining in your location, the background will show a rainy sky.
The Weather Lock Screen requires you to enable your Location Services for the Weather app.
how to set up the Weather Lock Screen on your iPhone.
Note:  When running VoiceOver, perform a one finger double tap gesture when the directions say to tap on an item.

Go to Settings.
Tap Wallpaper.
Tap Add New Wallpaper.
Tap either the Weather icon or the Weather pre-set option.
If desired, you can add widgets.
Tap Add.
Your Lock Screen will show the weather conditions in your location.

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How to Link Focus Modes and Lock Screens:
Note:  When running VoiceOver, perform a one finger double tap gesture when the directions say to tap on an item.

Once you have a Focus mode created, you can link it to an existing or brand new Lock Screen.
How to Link a Focus to an Existing Lock Screen

Here's how to link it to an existing Lock Screen:
Go to Settings.
Tap Focus.
Choose a Focus.
Find the Customize Screens section and tap Choose under the Lock Screen image. You can identify the Lock Screen image because it will include the time.
Here you will see your existing Lock Screens. Tap the circle or multiple circles under the Lock Screens you wish to use for this Focus mode. You can select as many as you wish as long as at least one Lock Screen remains unlinked.
Tap Done.
The selected Lock Screen(s) will appear in the Focus customization screen.
Now, when you turn on the selected Focus mode, the first selected Lock Screen will be activated. If you change your Lock Screen to one of the linked Lock Screens, it will turn on the associated Focus mode, as well.
How to Link a Focus to a New Lock Screen

If you wish to create a brand new Lock screen for your Focus mode, here's what to do:
Tap Create a New Lock Screen-instead of selecting from your existing ones in step 2, as listed above.
Follow the steps to create a new Lock Screen, including adding widgets if you would like. When you're satisfied, tap Add.
Choose Set as Wallpaper Pair.
You can choose this Lock Screen when you want to turn on this Focus mode.