iOS 16 The biggest new features and upgrades are highlighted by a revised lock screen, which includes a full-screen music player and mini visualizer. Apple’s latest mobile operating system upgrade was previewed and announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, but most of the minor iOS tweaks went unannounced. Instead, the intricacies and tricky changes to iOS 16 were uncovered during beta software periods, which allow users to test out the upcoming software before anyone else. The latest developer beta included minor tweaks and improvements, but a notable addition to the software was a redesigned music player available on the lock screen.
The slight change found in the iOS 16 developer beta 5 is just a small part of a new lock screen UI that is unlike any of the previous versions of iOS. In fact, the updated lock screen looks more like the watch face UI found on watchOS than previous versions of iOS. Multiple lock screens can be saved on an iPhone and linked to a home screen, and it’s easier than ever to swap between them. Holding down the lock screen will bring up a new UI for changing lock screens, and swiping left and right will bring up saved wallpapers. Another option for the lock screen, revealed by the iOS 16 developer beta 5, is to show the music player in full screen when media is playing.
Many small adjustments have been made to the Now Playing widget on the lock screen with iOS16, providing a new experience all around. For starters, the Now Playing block now appears at the bottom of the Lock screen, which is easier to reach on iPhones with larger screens. In previous versions of iOS, the Now Playing widget was located directly below the date and time on the lock screen. Now it’s just above the flashlight and the camera toggle at the bottom of the lock screen. Also, the icons used to indicate Bluetooth connections have changed – AirPods have custom icons and aren’t colored blue to signify an AirPlay connection.
How to enable full screen player
When the full screen music player is enabled on the lock screen, the album art fills the empty space and acts as a placeholder for the iPhone wallpaper. Any changes to the lock screen font will remain, but widgets and wallpapers will disappear when the fullscreen music player is opened. Like the native Music app, the area around the album art is filled with a gradient that matches the color of the album or song cover. Opening full screen doesn’t require a trip to the Settings app and only takes one tap.
Currently, there is no way to permanently set an album cover as your iPhone wallpaper all the time. Instead, the music must be playing in order to have full-screen album art as the device wallpaper. After the music plays, lock the device or swipe down to open the notification center. Wake up the device and tap the album art in the upper left corner of the Now Playing widget. The album art expands and the full-screen player opens. To close the full-screen player, simply tap the album art again.
In the iOS 16 beta, the fullscreen player works best when no new notifications are visible on the lock screen. When there are new notifications, these can clog the album art. In addition to the full-screen player, a mini viewer has been added to the top left corner of the Now Playing widget. While the Now Playing widget adjustments in iOS16 are purely aesthetic, they are a cleaner way to enjoy music when an iPhone is locked.
Source: Apple Developer