WWDC 2022 is right around the corner, and has usually been the case, rumour mills are churning out, well, rumors. Ahead of the WWDC, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the journalistic connoisseur of all things Apple, has reported that iOS 16 is set to utilise the unexplored lockscreen with widget-like layout.
iOS, being constantly under the hammer (Well, from Android users anyway.) for its lack of customising freedom, introduced widgets for home screen with iOS14, triggering a series of social media trends of people competing and comparing differently customised homescreens. This time around, widgets could finally be making their way to the lockscreen, with a concept similar to Apple’s “Today View”, which, to be very nitpicky here, has not found a widespread use.
If this were to come to iOS16 (what Gurman says is as reliable as it gets), third party customisation apps could have a field day creating theme sets covering both homescreen and lockscreen.
Sticking to the changes for lockscreen, iOS16 might finally introduce a much loved feature in the Android community, always-on-display. Since this feature has a direct impact on battery life, it is expected to be available on the higher end models of the iPhone 14 lineup.
But that’s not it, Gurman further reports that iOS16 will be bringing updates to first-party apps, like messages. Messages is expected to take a social media-like turn, suggesting a complete change to the long standing (and painfully mundane) experience the app offers. Notifications and iPad multitasking functionality are also slated for improvements in this year’s iteration of the iOS.
Mark Gurman had earlier reported that contrary to the usual software-focused nature of the WWDC, Apple might release a few MacBook models at the event. 2022 MacBooks are rumoured to be the first devices with Apple’s new M2 chip
