iOS 16 Lock Screen Guide: Widgets, Customization Options and More - MacRumors

Apple overhauled the Lock Screen in iOS 16, introducing all kinds of customization options that let you make your Lock Screen unique.

If you're familiar with the widget and Home Screen editing interfaces, editing a Lock Screen in ‌iOS 16‌ is much the same.

You can choose different wallpapers, colors, and widgets, which we'll go over below.

Tapping on the "+" button when creating a new Lock Screen or customizing an existing one will bring you to the wallpaper interface first, where you can choose the wallpaper that you want to use.

Once you choose a person to feature on your Lock Screen, you'll see how it will look with the time depth effect.

The Photos category allows you to use any of your photos as a Lock Screen, with Apple selecting Featured images that will work with the layered time effect or that the ‌iPhone‌ thinks might look particularly good as a wallpaper.

The Astronomy Lock Screen is similar to the Weather Lock Screen, in that it changes throughout the day based on the time and your location.

As with the Weather Lock Screen, there are no customization options for the wallpaper itself.

The Color Lock Screen wallpaper lets you select a plain color for your background, though it will use a bit of a gradient, which can look nice depending on which color you've picked for the time.

You can select from one of Apple's preset colors and adjust the hue, or you can choose any color from Grid, Spectrum, and Slider options.

Color Lock Screen wallpapers can be adjusted with different gradient options.

Each Apple-created wallpaper has a unique look that's designed for the ‌iOS 16‌ Lock Screen, interacting in fun ways with the time.

Some of the wallpapers can be customized with different color options, such as the rainbow stripe and the bokeh, and several are slightly animated.

After you choose a Lock Screen wallpaper, you can customize everything else on the Lock Screen, including the font and color of the time that's displayed.

On any Lock Screen wallpaper, you tap on customize and then tap on the box that's around the time to change the design.

You can choose from several different fonts, and depending on the Lock Screen, a selection of colors.

Most Lock Screens support any color, but there are a few of the Apple-designed options that are less customizable.

As with most of the color options, you can choose from preselected colors or use the color wheel to pick any color that you like.

The wallpaper customization options are nice for a one-of-a-kind look for your Lock Screen, but what really sets ‌iOS 16‌ apart is the option to add widgets to your Lock Screen.

In the customization interface, whether creating a new Lock Screen or customizing an existing Lock Screen, there are two separate widget boxes that you can edit.

The widget interfaces are not as complex as the widgets available in the Today view and the ‌Home Screen‌, but are instead more subtle versions that blend in with the rest of your Lock Screen setup.

You can add four single block widgets, two larger block widgets, or choose one single block widget and two smaller block widgets.

You can add a widget next to the date above the digital clock on the Lock Screen, and many of these widgets display a single data point, using text and symbols, right next to the date.

Because of the new Lock Screen design with widgets, notifications now come in from the bottom of the display, rather than the top

Just long press on the screen after unlocking to get to the Lock Screen customization interface and swipe left or right to go through the different Lock Screens that you've created

Each separate Lock Screen that you create can be linked to a different Focus mode in ‌iOS 16‌

To do this, open up the Lock Screen interface by long pressing on an unlocked ‌iPhone‌'s Lock Screen, scroll to the Lock Screen of your choice, and then tap on "Focus" to choose which Focus mode to associate the Lock Screen with

When using the new Lock Screen customization options, by default, ‌iOS 16‌ changes both your Lock Screen and your ‌Home Screen‌ to the wallpaper that you select

If you want to have different wallpapers for both your ‌Home Screen‌ and Lock Screen, set up the Lock Screen and then follow these steps:

You can choose a solid color or pick a photo, allowing the ‌Home Screen‌ to use a different background from the Lock Screen

Have questions about the ‌iOS 16‌ Lock Screen, know of a feature we left out, or want to offer feedback on this guide