The iPhone 14 will be the first iPhone model to support the always-on display feature. This is a feature that Android has had for years and that the iPhone doesn’t necessarily need. Perhaps Apple waited so long to introduce always-on display support because it also needed a specific hardware component, which the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max will finally provide.
We’ve already seen multiple leaks detailing the always-on display’s functionality, and iOS 16’s code has further cemented them.
But a leak from a source who has access to the iPhone 14 Pro’s functionality shows us the real product.
This is the same person who recently revealed that, contrary to popular belief, the notch on the iPhone 14 Pro will look like an elongated pill instead of a separate pill and hole.
We remind you that the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max will have 120Hz ProMotion displays, which are even better than last year’s. They will be able to refresh at 1Hz instead of the minimum 10Hz on the iPhone 13 Pro. This will help save battery, especially when the always-on display feature is enabled.
A MacRumors forum user who claims to have an Apple engineer „friend“ has posted concept images of the always-on display feature in action.
On top of that, the leaker detailed the feature to MacRumors, which seems to confirm previous reports.
The images in this post show a significant change to the status bar. The iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max will get a full battery indicator on the right. The cell signal indicator will move to the left, next to the carrier name. This was the design of the iPhone status bar before the introduction of the iPhone X notch.
iPhone 14 Pro always-on display: How it works
The Always On Display functionality will work in tandem with the new lock screen widgets in iOS 16. The Always On Display will use the lock screen wallpaper, widgets, and notifications.
When the function is active, all wallpapers with depth effect will be removed and the screen will be darkened. The foreground will be darkened, but the design and color will be taken from the original wallpaper.
The content of the always-on display will be identical to the current lock screen. You cannot configure a separate display experience for standard lock screen and a different one for always-on display. The latter will simply mirror the configuration of the former.
The widgets you set for that particular screen will be visible on the always-on display. But Apple introduces a feature to fade out at certain time intervals. The user won’t notice it, but it should prevent OLED burn-in on the iPhone 14 Pro models.
Finally, Apple will show notifications on the iPhone 14 Pro’s always-on display. They are supposed to climb up from below one at a time. They will be visible for about 10 seconds. Apple can also display a notification counter.
That said, the experience isn’t quite finished, and Apple engineers are reportedly still trying to polish it ahead of next week’s iPhone 14 launch.