iOS 16 brings an entirely new lock screen, one more customizable than ever

For the first time you'll be able to pick a different clock style for your lock screen. Right now, all designs appear to be digital – an analog clock wasn't shown during the demo. What was shown was a selection of six different font styles to choose from – all bold and easy to read. Font color is also customizable. However, we're not sure if we're fans of the layered design shown off – if you look closely, people in the wallpaper are displayed on a layer over the clock. Cool effect, questionable practicality. 

Speaking of the wallpaper, it appears that you'll be able to add various effects to it, including a style color. If your wallpaper was shot in Portrait Mode, you'll be able to apply one of the familiar camera portrait effects, such as "Studio" or "Black & White".

When picking a photo, iOS 16 will recommend ones from your gallery that would make a great wallpaper. You may also have them change automatically – hourly or daily; when you wake the phone or when you tap the lock screen. 

And on the quirky side of things, you can create your own Emoji wallpaper. Yay, we suppose?

While lock screen widgets aren't new to iOS in general, the way they look in iOS has been redesigned from the ground up. During the iOS 16 introduction, we were shown a preview of a compact and customizable widget panel, about as large as the clock. It contains four slots for widgets, and from the look of it, four is the maximum number of lock screen widgets you can place on a single lock screen. However, some widgets occupy two slots. 

The list of iOS 16 lock screen widgets includes essentials like upcoming calendar events and the weather conditions, as well as activity information an the battery level of connected accessories. Here's how they look in practice:

Reminiscent of widgets, Live Activities are special panels that are shown temporarily on the lock screen. These can be a widget displaying live sports results, the progress of your workout, or the status of your Starbucks order delivery. No distractions.  

The iOS 16 lock screen seems incredibly versatile, and with so much flexibility, it's nice that there's an option to save favorite layouts. Wallpapers, color settings, and widget arrangements can be stored in presets. You can switch between presets depending on the occasion or whenever you feel like it with just a swipe.  

With so much to tweak, iOS 16 users could use some inspiration. That's where the Lock Screen gallery comes into play. Its a collection of lock screen layouts and unique designs, such as the Weather wallpaper, which reacts to the weather, as the name implies, and the Astronomy wallpaper, displaying a beautiful view of the Earth, moon, and solar system.  

Apple collections, which include Pride and Unity to celebrate special cultural moments; a Weather wallpaper to see live weather conditions as they change throughout the day; and an Astronomy wallpaper for views of the Earth, moon, and solar system. Users can also create Lock Screens using their favorite emoji or color combinations. With multiple Lock Screens, users can switch between their favorites with just a swipe.

This story would feel incomplete without a mention of the way lock screen notifications work in iOS 16. In a nutshell, they've been redesigned to be easier to interact with. They're now displayed towards the bottom of the screen – a neat change, and one that could be particularly useful on larger iPhones. Also, they are shown in a carousel that rolls up, leaving plenty of real estate for your beautifully personalized lock screen. Read more about the iOS 16 notifications over here.