The iPhone lock screen used to be seen as an afterthought – a place for the clock, a few notifications, a couple of widgets and the standard buttons. But with the release of iOS 26, Apple has completely rethought its role. No longer just a screensaver, it’s now a real space for personalisation. And while there used to be a lot of customisation options, now there are even more, and the interface itself is more flexible and interesting. A nice bonus is that most of the new features work even on older iPhone models.
Here are the key features that are already available in the beta version of iOS 26 and make the lockscreen much more useful:
mobile widgets
Now you can place them not only under the clock, but also at the bottom of the screen – right above the torch and camera buttons. This is very convenient for one-handed operation – everything is under your finger.
larger clock
In the editing mode there is a slider that can be used to stretch the numbers to almost half of the screen – it looks spectacular and stylish.
Quickly switch to the media library
When changing the wallpaper, a single tap is enough to immediately open the photo from which the current background is created. This speeds up the search for similar images and saves time.
live background
When you tilt or move your smartphone, the background reacts to the movement – giving your screens a more dynamic and lively feel.
animated music covers
Tracks from Apple Music can now be displayed with full-screen animations. Tap the cover artwork and it unfolds into a moving scene. In the future, this feature will also be available for third-party apps like Spotify.
IOS 26 takes the lockscreen to a new level – it becomes not only prettier, but also noticeably more functional. And this is just the beta version – in autumn, the final release is likely to bring us even more interesting changes.