The iPhone 14 Pro will feature live wallpapers that adapt to the always-on display

The always-on screen of the iPhone 14 continues to reveal its secrets. While we were digging into iOS 16, our colleagues from 9to5Mac discovered new wallpapers for this feature. The latter can automatically go into standby mode, darkening the image to bring out the various configured widgets.

We’ve known with near-certainty for several months that the iPhone 14 Pro will offer an always-on display. This novelty is made possible by using for the first time an LTPO panel capable of going from a refresh rate of 1 Hz to 120 Hz. As a reminder, the functionality will allow displaying a certain amount of information on the lock screen, such as the degree of autonomy, the weather, or the progress of deliveries.

Thanks to the research of our colleagues at 9to5mac, we’re learning a little more about how the screen works today. Specifically, the latter will work more or less the same as on Android smartphones that offer the option: once locked, the screen will go black and display the widgets configured by the user. To this is added a small variant made in Apple.

iPhone 14 Pro wallpapers mimic the Apple Watch

There are indeed several new wallpapers within iOS 16, which are slightly different from what we are used to seeing on the iPhone. The latter are not static but adapt to the condition of the smartphone. In other words, the image automatically darkens when the always-on screen is activated, so that the information on it comes out better.

For example, the iPhone 14 Pro will mimic the behavior of the Apple Watch, which already offers this functionality. Once the user locks their screen, the wallpaper will automatically switch to this Standby mode, leaving the image still visible on the smartphone. Once the latter is unlocked, the wallpaper will naturally return to its usual brightness level without any user intervention. It’s yet to be determined how many of these live wallpapers Apple will offer, or even if it’s a feature that applies to all images.