At this point, the rumors surrounding the iPhone 14 Pro are pretty concrete when it comes to the new display. In fact, it is claimed that the Pro models will support an always-on mode.
While there were already several references to a new always-on mode in previous versions of iOS 16, the system's wallpapers have now also been updated to take advantage of this new technology. This is now reported by the US blog 9to5mac. Even before WWDC 2022, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that iOS 16 will be ready for a new always-on mode, which is expected to be exclusive to the iPhone 14 Pro models. That's because this year's models will get a new variable refresh rate display that scales up to 1 Hz per second. This should make it consume less power than current displays.
iOS 16 wallpapers ready for Always-on Display
When it comes to Android smartphones with Always-on Display, the mode works pretty much the same on all devices. You get a black screen with the clock and sometimes widgets. With the new lock screen in iOS 16, it's pretty clear that the iPhone is likely to take a similar approach. However, Apple may be working on something else for the iPhone 14 Pro. Based on the internal files of iOS 16 Beta 4, 9to5Mac found that the system wallpapers are now ready for this new Always-on Display mode. That means iOS 16 will no longer use static images as wallpapers. Instead, the new wallpapers are multi-layered vectors that are rendered in real time.
Wallpapers have a “sleep” version
In addition to the regular vectors, the native wallpapers (like the default and the recently added clownfish wallpaper) now also have a new state called "Sleep" that contains very dark and faded elements. Wallpapers in this state are very similar to Apple Watch watch faces with the Always-On feature enabled. Once the user turns off the iPhone 14 Pro's screen, the wallpaper switches to the "Sleep" version. Thus, it seems that Apple is bringing the same effect to the iPhone 14 Pro as it did with the Apple Watch. This means that users will still see their wallpapers in some way even when the screen is off.
iPhone 14 Pro models receive major upgrade
The wallpaper will be displayed at full brightness once the user taps the screen or presses the power button. Apple is expected to unveil four new iPhone models this year. However, the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will be the only ones to feature a faster chip and a new screen design with a pill-shaped cutout instead of a notch. Rumor has it that this year's Pro models will also get a new 48-megapixel wide-angle camera capable of recording 8K video. The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will also get the biggest front-facing camera upgrade in years, with a new lens with a larger f/1.9 aperture and autofocus for better low-light performance. (Image: Ian Zelebo x Jon Prosser)
