Apple is creating a new interface for iPhones that displays information like calendar appointments, weather, and notifications in the style of a smart-home display, as part of a slew of new features in its iOS 17 software upgrade.
According to those familiar with the project, the view will emerge when an iPhone is locked and positioned horizontally, comparable to dedicated screens given by Alphabet’s Google and Amazon. The objective is to make iPhones more useful when they are laying on a person’s desk.
The move is part of a larger push by Apple to include real-time data in more aspects of its software, a strategy that includes the Apple Watch’s interface. The new perspective is one of numerous improvements planned for iOS 17, codenamed ‘dawn,’ which is scheduled for release later in 2023.
Apple intends to introduce the software alongside its mixed-reality headset on June 5 at the Worldwide Developers Conference.
The new iPhone interface will be comparable to one that debuted in a more rudimentary form on the Android OS in 2019. Amazon has long provided a similar option on its tablets, allowing them to enter a mode similar to the UI of its Echo Show smart-home gadgets.
The Apple feature will have a dark background with bright writing to make it easier to see because the work isn’t yet public. It will build on the company’s release of lock screen widgets as part of iOS 16 last year. Apple is looking on different ways to transform its devices into smart-home screens. This includes creating a low-cost tablet device with magnetic attachments to walls and supports.
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