Lock screen & widgets

There’s more information at your fingertips in iOS 10

One big feature we really wanted to see in iOS 10 is a more useful Lock screen, and that’s exactly what we’re getting. One of the new features is that you’ll be able to access much richer instant responses for notifications. For example, you can press on a notification from Messages to see the larger conversation in a view that looks just like the Messages app, instead of just the last message, complete with the option to reply. If you press on an event invitation, you’ll be shown your calendar for the proposed day, with options to accept or decline – all without unlocking your phone or opening the full version of the notifying app. App developers can make these incredibly useful, and they can even have live elements, such as a ride share service showing your hired car moving live as it approaches. Having the extra information and quick options to hand can really help you get meaningful things done fast. These capabilities only work with 3D Touch devices in the developer beta (you need to hard press to activate the richer notification options), but Apple says they’ll be available on all devices for iOS 10’s launch.

Apple’s changing a few other things about how the Lock screen works: you’ll swipe right to left on it to open the camera, for example. Swiping in the other direction opens a new widget screen, a bit like the Today view in Notification Center. You choose which widgets to show here, including those installed by third-party apps, to see your most important information at a glance.

This screen also includes a search function and Siri app suggestions, a bit like the Spotlight feature, so you can use it to unlock your phone straight to an app it think you’ll want to use at that time. And, you can get to all this stuff faster

thanks to the new Raise to Wake feature: when you pick up your iPhone, its screen comes on automatically, just like when you raise your wrist to look at your Apple Watch.

A touch of widgetry

The extra info from rich notifications and widgets shows up elsewhere in iOS, too. When you 3D Touch an app on the Home screen, it can now show a widget as well as Quick Actions, so you could get a quick glance at sports scores, for example. Widgets in Notification Center can include live elements too, such as notifications or even streaming video, so a widget for the same sports app might allow you to expand it to view a recent highlight, or a news app might show a clip for an event.

Swipe left to right on the Lock screen to access the widgets view.

Notifications have a subtly different look on iOS 10’s Lock screen.

You’ll be able to view a conversation thread in Messages right from the Lock screen.

You’ll be able to see how an invitation fits in with your schedule and deal with it right from its notification.

Widgets can include streaming video, so you could watch the highlights of a play right after the widget tells you something happened.

You can 3D Touch an app’s icon to see a widget view, as well as some useful task shortcuts.