What is happening
Between the release of iOS 16, the upcoming expansion of the Glance lock screen content company in the US, and updates to Google’s Pixel phone widgets, it’s clear that the lock screen is about to change.
Why it matters
The lock screen is the first thing most people see when they pick up the phone. These updates suggest that companies are trying to make better use of this space.
That follows
Apple’s iOS 16 update officially launches in the fall and just hit the public beta on Monday. Glance has not provided a timeline for his U.S. debut.
How many times do you look at your phone every day? It doesn’t matter if it’s just one or too many times to count, you’re always greeted first by the lock screen wallpaper. Maybe it’s a photo of your pet, a picture of a beautiful sunset from a recent vacation, or just a fantastic work of art. All that could change very soon.
The lock screen has long been considered an intimate space reserved for personal photos, important notifications, and tools like the flashlight. But companies are increasingly looking to do more with these valuable real estate, as evidenced by Apple’s iOS 16 update and other changes that are said to reach Android phones.
Apple’s iOS 16 update, which was released Monday in public beta, will bring more customization options and new widgets to the iPhone’s lock screen when it arrives this fall. You’ll be able to see more information quickly and apply styling effects to lock photos on the screen in a manner similar to the iPhone’s portrait mode.
Glance, a subsidiary of Google’s mobile advertising technology company InMobi, also reiterated its plans to bring its lock screen platform to the U.S. And it is said that Google plans to incorporate more information into its own lock screen widget for Pixel phones.
All in all, changes like these suggest that we may not want to get past lock screens so quickly in the future.
The widget gallery for the iPhone lock screen in iOS 16.
Apple / CNET Screenshot
The iPhone’s lock screen is undergoing a major overhaul
One of the most important features of iOS 16 is the new lock screen. Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, called it “the biggest update in history” when he presented the update at Apple’s World Developers Conference in June. You can customize the font styles and colors for the date and time, as well as give your background photo an aesthetic similar to the cover of the magazine.
As I wrote earlier, it is really the new widgets that will bring more utility to the iPhone lock screen. The iPhone now allows you to place widgets on today’s lock screen of your lock screen, which you can access by swiping to the right.
But iOS 16 adds widgets to the main lock screen to show snippets of information at a glance, such as temperature, Apple Watch activity rings, and upcoming calendar appointments. Android phones have been offering this kind of functionality for years, and it’s nice to see the iPhone follow suit. You can even create multiple lock screens and scroll through them, just like the faces on your Apple Watch.
Since you can add app widgets like Spotify, Google Maps, and Outlook to today’s iPhone view, I wouldn’t be surprised to see third-party widgets available for the new lock screen as well. If you take a closer look at Apple’s WWDC demo, you can even see an option for a Nike widget. This means that developers may soon have another way to reach iPhone owners and prevent their apps from being buried deep in a user’s app library.
It’s impossible to know how useful this new lock screen will be without spending a lot of time with iOS 16. But as I wrote before, it looks like the new iOS 16 widgets will make your iPhone feel more like to the Apple Watch. which looks like an update. Like the Apple Watch, the new lock screen should make it easier to view crucial information without having to search for apps or even unlock your phone.
A screenshot of Glance’s website showing what its lock screen platform looks like.
CNET screenshot
Android phone owners may have new lock screen options coming soon
Glance, which offers entertainment and other digital content on the lock screens of certain Android devices in India and Southeast Asia, is in talks with wireless carriers to launch in the United States over the next two months, according to TechCrunch. While the company has not revealed its launch time in the U.S. or other details, Monday gave a glimpse of its lock screen offering in the U.S.
The Glance lock screen will appear in the form of what you call “spaces,” which are essentially selected lock screens designed to fit specific topics. A fitness-oriented lock screen, for example, would display statistics such as calories burned and exercise goals along with a music player. A news “space” would show headlines and time, while a musical version could come to light live concerts. It reminds me of how the new iPhone lock screen in iOS 16 can be linked to different “approaches,” such as work or personal mode.
TechCrunch’s report on Glance’s arrival in the United States raised concerns that the ads would also hit the lock screen. The Glance business page shows examples of advertisers who have used their platform to reach potential customers on the first screen they see when they pick up the phone. Intel, Zomato and Garnier are among the case studies listed.
But Rohan Choudhary, vice president and CEO of the Glance channel, told CNET that the US version would be without ads.
“We’re very clear that in the U.S., we won’t have ads on the lock screen at all,” he said.
The company also issued a press release on Monday saying it “has no intention of displaying ads on the surface of the lock screen.” Still, Glance will have to prove that its lock screen offerings offer more value than the many widgets and other options that are already available to Android users. You will also need to strike the right balance to display useful information without being too distracted.
The company says it plans to monetize its service through news subscriptions and business links from shopping platforms that appear through Glance. But these choices will have to be useful and relevant, or they could end up being as intrusive as the ads. The company says it has a 60% retention rate and can be found in 400 million phones in the markets where it currently operates.
When Glance launches in the US, it will focus its lock screen options around specific themes they call “spaces”. The screenshots above are an example of a fitness-oriented space.
CNET look / screenshots
Google, for its part, has its own means to make the lock screen more useful. The Company at a Glance feature for Pixel phones displays relevant information on the lock screen where appropriate, as the name suggests. A recent 9to5Google report suggests that new details will soon be available in this widget. Travel sharing updates from apps like Lyft and Uber could be among the new alerts available at a glance, possibly making it even easier to see urgent notifications from the lock screen.
Regardless of the implementation, these expected changes show that the lock screen needs an update. As our phones have become centers for accessing information, controlling appliances, and ordering everything from a taxi to full grocery orders, the lock screen has taken on an important new role. Just displaying timely alerts is not enough.
Whether it’s the new iOS 16 widgets, Pixel’s glance feature updates, or Glance lock screen “spaces,” the goal seems to be the same: make our lock screens better organize the burst of notifications and updates that bombard our phones every day. What remains to be seen is how successful these attempts will be.