5 Lock-Screen Features We Can't Wait to Try in iOS 16

pcmag.com:

With iOS 16, Apple is giving the Lock Screen its "biggest update ever," in a bid to make the first screen you see when you fire up your iPhone a place that's actually useful. Which new Lock Screen features are the most intriguing? Here are our picks for the changes we want to try out first.

If you're an Apple Watch user, you'll feel right at home with this feature, as it's very similar to using multiple faces on your watch. With iOS 16, you can quickly swipe between different custom Lock Screens depending on your needs; the update will support lock screens with emoji, widgets, color combinations, and images. It even offers the ability to customize the clock and have a different one on each of your screens.

Widgets are a great way to get quick tidbits of information, and Apple is bringing them to your phone's Lock Screen in iOS 16. Apple says these widgets will "take inspiration from Apple Watch complications" for at-a-glance details on things like upcoming events, weather, battery levels, Activity ring progress, and more. This sounds like a game-changer for keeping tabs on your most-used iOS features without wasting time entering a passcode or dealing with Face ID.

Apple's Focus, which rolled out in iOS 15 as a way to cut down on distractions, now connects to the Lock Screen. Link a specific Lock Screen to a Focus—Personal, Work, or Do Not Disturb, for example—and whenever you enter that Focus Mode, the Lock Screen will shift accordingly and only show you relevant information, like your calendar or to-do list for a Work Focus.

This won't change the way you interact with your iPhone, but it's a pretty cool update, as you'll be able to create a sense of depth on your screen with the images you use as your wallpaper.