Last Monday, Apple announced the new features of iOS 16. The test version of the software has already been released, and hints have been found in the code that indicate that the iPhone 14 Pro will have an always-on screen.
iPhone 14 Pro with Always On
There have been rumors for some time that a display with Always-on is in the works for the iPhone 14 Pro. With the feature, the display is on even when the iPhone is in sleep mode. For example, the time is always visible, or your latest notifications.
Now there is more evidence that Apple is indeed working on such a feature. news site 9to5Mac discovered multiple references in iOS 16 code that indicate an always-on display is in development. Three new frameworks have been added in the beta, all of which have references to an always-on screen.
Hints
The references are about managing the iPhone screen backlighting. This is an important aspect of an always-on display. The hints also clearly point to an always-on screen for the iPhone; so they are not references to the existing always-on functions of the Apple Watch.
There are also so-called hidden flags in iOS 16, which Apple engineers can use to enable the always-on functionality even on non-supportive devices. This way, the technicians can already test the function on the iPhone 13 Pro.
What’s the benefit?
The Apple Watch Series 5 and newer also have this feature. The clock shows the time and other information continuously, even with your wrist down. Probably the iPhone 14 Pro also constantly shows the time. This may also apply to notifications, or the widgets that you place on the new iOS 16 lock screen.
To enable the always-on functionality, the new flagship gets an improved ProMotion screen. It can refresh the screen at a very slow rate: 1 Hz. This is one image per second. Due to this low frequency, the iPhone’s screen can always remain on, without using a lot of battery. With the iPhone 13 Pro, the maximum refresh rate is ten times higher: 10 Hz.
Only iPhone 14 Pro gets always-on
The regular iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max do not get the Always-on screen. This has to do with the fact that the ProMotion screen is missing there. The screen is refreshed there, just like with the iPhone 13 (mini) at 60 times per second, making the display not suitable for always-on.
The new iPhone 14 models are expected in September. Do you want to stay informed of the developments? Sign up for our newsletter: