New in iOS 16.2: Disable wallpapers and notifications on iPhone always-on display.

iOS 16.2 introduces new toggles to turn off the lock screen wallpaper and/or notifications when always showing iPhone is active.

• What is happening? Apple added a couple of toggles in iOS 16 so you can turn off wallpaper and notification banners on your iPhone’s always-on display.
• Why care? Turning off wallpapers and notifications is a much-requested feature that should put people at ease who are complaining about battery drain.
• What to do? If you have iOS 16.2, go to Settings → Display & Brightness → Always On Display to toggle the options to disable wallpaper or notifications.

iOS 16.2 helps reduce Always-On Display battery drain

Apple’s always-on display shows a dimmed wallpaper with your notifications visible at the bottom and clocks, widgets, and more at the top.

Compare this to Android devices, which limit their always-on displays to displaying the current date and clock on a solid black background. This helps conserve battery life on OLED devices. In iOS 16.2, Apple is offering new options for setting the iPhone’s always-on display to work like it does on Android.

Starting with the third beta of what will become iOS 16.2, you can finally turn off your wallpapers and notification banners on the lock screen when always on display is active. If only there was a toggle to hide the Now Playing widget…

How to turn off always-on wallpapers and notifications

Visit the display settings in iOS 16.2 or later to individually switch the wallpaper and/or notifications on the iPhone’s lock screen when its always-on display is active.

1. Open Settings on your iPhone 14 with iOS 16.2 or later.
2. Select “Screen and Brightness”from the root list.
3. Click “Always On Display”.
4. Sliders next to Show Wallpaper and Show Notifications.

Disabling wallpapers and notifications will make the dimmed lock screen less busy and reduce battery drain when using the always on display feature. Prior to iOS 16.2, you didn’t have a dedicated always-on display section. Rather, there was a single switch in your display settings to turn the permanent feature on or off.

Improving Always-On Display with Software

Apple implemented the always-on display feature on the iPhone with the release of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pros in September 2022.

Apple’s version requires more power than Android, leaving only the clock and widgets visible. However, with a simple software tweak, Apple was able to make the overall experience of using the iPhone always-on display much better than before. Read: 5 Ways Apple Can Improve iPhone 14’s Always-On Display

If you still don’t understand how iOS decides when to turn off the always-on display completely, Apple has listed examples of situations where the iPhone’s always-on display can turn off. This will happen, for example, if your iPhone is face down or in your pocket, or it has Sleep Focus turned on, and so on.

When will iOS 16.2 be released for all users?

The iOS 16.2 beta is currently being tested by Apple and its registered developers. There are a few more betas ahead, expect the update to roll out in the coming weeks.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, iOS 16.2 will be available around mid-December. When it appears, you will download and install the over-the-air update on your iPhone or iPad from Settings → General → Software Update.

iOS 16.2 will include other hidden changes, missing features, and quality-of-life improvements to complement your experience.

For example, the Stocks app has new options for sorting watchlists by ticker symbol, price or percentage change, market capitalization, and more. In the TV app, a Featured section will appear above your Up Next queue. Regional weather-related stories are now built into the Weather app thanks to news integration.

Apple is also working on a new feature called Custom Accessibility Mode that may or may not arrive with iOS 16.2. The Custom Accessibility Mod promises to simplify the iPhone experience to make the iPhone more accessible to inexperienced users with a simplified home screen, huge icons, simple in-app controls, and more.