Apple Turns Locked iPhones Into Smart Displays With iOS 17 – Orange County Registrar

By Mark Garman | Bloomberg

Apple is planning a new interface for the iPhone that will display information such as calendar events, weather and notifications in the style of smart home displays. This is part of a series of new features coming with the iOS 17 software update.

The view, which appears when the iPhone is locked and laid horizontally, works similarly to dedicated displays offered by Alphabet’s Google and Amazon.com, according to people familiar with the project. The idea is to make the iPhone more useful when it’s on someone’s desk or nightstand, for example.

The move is part of a broader effort to embed live information into more parts of the company’s software, an approach that includes the Apple Watch interface. The new view is one of several changes planned for iOS 17 (codenamed Dawn), which will be released to consumers later in 2023. Apple plans to unveil the software along with mixed reality headsets at its Worldwide Developers Conference on June 5th.

An Apple spokesperson declined to comment on plans for iOS 17.

The new iPhone’s interface will resemble the one introduced in 2019, in a more basic form, to the Android operating system. Amazon has also offered such an option on its tablets for years, allowing the tablet to transition into a mode similar to the Echo’s interface. View your smart home devices.

The Apple feature will use light text on a dark background to make it easier to read, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the work has not yet been published. It builds on the Lock Screen Widget the company released last year as part of iOS 16, allowing users to view small snippets of information such as stock quotes, news and temperature vertically below the time on the screen. can.

The Cupertino-based company is also working on a new horizontal interface for the iPad, but has been slow to make major changes to that device. The new iPhone lock screen in iOS 16 wasn’t available on iPad yet, and the home screen widgets that started with iOS 14 didn’t come to tablets until iPadOS 15.

Apple is exploring other ways to turn its devices into smart home displays. This includes developing low-cost tablets that can be magnetically attached to walls or stands, but progress has been slow. The device could eventually be Apple’s entry into smart home displays. It’s designed to control things like thermostats and lights, display videos, and handle FaceTime chats.

As part of iOS 17, Apple is also planning major changes to the iPhone’s Wallet app, including enhancements to location services. Introducing a new journaling app designed to add note-taking and a stronger social element to your device.

Health has also changed, with new features for tracking moods and coping with low vision. And Apple plans to bring its Health app to the iPad.

The company is also working on upgrading SharePlay, a feature that lets users use FaceTime while collaborating on apps, and AirPlay, which sends content from Apple devices to TVs and speakers. It has been in talks with hotels and other providers of TVs and speakers to make it easier for users to send video and audio to devices they don’t own.