iOS 17 Lock Screen to Turn iPhone Into Smart Home Display [Report]

Apple is planning to introduce a new feature in iOS 17 that will turn your iPhone into a smart home style display when locked and positioned horizontally, according to a new report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The screen will purportedly show information including calendar appointments, weather, and notifications.

The view will appear when an iPhone is locked and positioned horizontally, operating similarly to dedicated displays offered by Alphabet Inc.'s Google and Amazon.com Inc., according to people familiar with the project. The idea is to make iPhones more useful when they're, for example, lying on a person's desk or nightstand. The move is part of a broader push to embed live information in more parts of the company's software — an approach that also includes the Apple Watch's interface. The new view is one of several changes planned for iOS 17, codenamed Dawn, which will be released to consumers later in 2023.

Gurman says the smart display view will have a dark background with bright text, building on the company's launch of lock screen widgets last year.


Additionally, Apple is working on a new horizontal interface for iPad; however, progress on iPad has been slower. The tablet has yet to get the new iPhone lock screen from iOS 16. As rumored earlier, Apple is purportedly developing a low-cost tablet that could act as a smart home display and magnetically attach to walls and stands. The tablet could be Apple's entry into the smart home display market, letting users control devices, watch video, and FaceTime chat.

Other updates for iOS 17 are said to include, significant changes to the Wallet app, a new journaling app, a Health app for iPad, the ability to log your mood, features for users with weak vision, upgrades for SharePlay and AirPlay, and more.

iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 will be unveiled at Apple's WWDC 2023 keynote on June 5. Please download the iClarified app or follow iClarified on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and RSS for more updates.