iOS 16 Lock Screen Ideas: How to Customize Your iPhone?

Apple recently announced iOS 16, which is a massive update to iOS. iOS 16 has new features that make it easier to use your iPhone. The most prominent feature Apple announced with iOS 16 is the new lock screen customization options. Lack of personalization is something that Apple has always been blamed for. Not anymore, as Apple has introduced this massive lock screen overhaul that everyone will love.

With iOS 16, users can now personalize their lock screen and interact with it using the new lock screen widgets specifically designed for the lock screen. Apart from just changing the wallpaper, users can now change the clock’s font and colour. You can apply filters and depth effects to the wallpaper for a unique look. You can also add widgets of your favourite colour and set up specific lock screens for work and home using the new focus mode feature. Here’s a detailed guide for all the new iOS 16 lock screen ideas with customization options.

How to Customize Your iPhone Lock Screen in iOS 16?

It is pretty easy to customize your iPhone lock screen in iOS 16. Let’s look at how you can create your custom lock screen for your iPhone.

iOS 16 Lock Screen Idea 1: Create a new custom lock screen for your iPhone

• Unlock your iPhone and then long-press the lock screen to enter the lock screen editing mode.
• You will now see a ‘+’ icon in the bottom right, tap on it or swipe from right to left to view the ‘Add New’ lock screen option. Tap on it to create your custom lock screen.

• Now you will see the new lock screen customization menu. Here you can choose a wallpaper. You can pick one from the options given by Apple, or you can select a photo from your library. You have the opportunity to set a weather wallpaper or emoji wallpaper too. Apple has also introduced cool new astronomy wallpapers. The wallpapers are available both in light and dark mode.
• Once you have selected your wallpaper, you can start customizing your lock screen.
• Tap on the clock. You will see a menu at the bottom where you can change the font (6 fonts available) and pick the colour of the time according to your preferences.
• To add widgets to your lock screen, tap on the + icon below the clock. Here you can choose Weather widgets, clock widgets, battery widgets, and more. Since the widget area is limited, you can only add up to four 1×1 widgets or two 2×1 widgets or one 2×1 widget, and two 1×1 widgets at once. Tap Done to save and apply the lock screen.

Pro Tip: If four widgets are not enough for you, you can tap on the date to swap it for another widget on your lock screen. You can replace the widget for the date if you would like to have an extra widget on your lock screen.

This is how you can do basic customization to your iPhone lock screen in iOS 16. To customize even further, read more.

• Editor’s Pick: Best iOS 16 Home Screen Ideas.

iOS 16 Lock Screen Idea 2: Change the wallpaper of your lock screen

You can change your lock screen’s wallpaper without having to create a new lock screen. Here’s how you can change the wallpaper of your lock screen.

• Unlock your iPhone and long-press on the long screen. Tap on Customise at the bottom.
• You will now see a photo icon on the bottom left. Tap on it to change your lock screen wallpaper.
• You can now choose a different photo or emoji/colour, depending on which wallpaper you used initially.

• Moreover, if you use an emoji wallpaper, you will see an emoji icon instead of the photos icon. Similarly, if you use a colour or Astronomy wallpaper, you will see a different icon. You can tap on any icons to change your lock screen’s wallpaper.

Note that in iOS 16 developer beta 1, you can only change the wallpaper of your iPhone lock screen that uses a custom image from your gallery. Changing the wallpaper is impossible if you use Apple’s stock wallpapers. It would be best to create a new lock screen to get the desired wallpaper.

iOS 16 Lock Screen Idea 3: Delete or change the widgets on your lock screen

Deleting and changing widgets on your iOS 16 lock screen is pretty straightforward. Here’s how you can change the widgets on your lock screen.

1. Firstly, unlock your iPhone and then long-press the lock screen to enter the edit mode.
2. At the bottom, tap on Customise.
3. Now tap on the widgets area situated below the time. Tap on the minus icon of a widget you want to delete. (To change a widget, you must first delete an existing one).
4. Select the widget you want to add from the bottom menu.

iOS 16 Lock Screen Idea 4: Use shuffling wallpapers on your lock screen

iOS 16 lets you shuffle wallpapers every time you unlock your iPhone. Every time you pick it up, you will see a new wallpaper. Here’s how you can enable it on your iPhone.

1. Firstly, unlock your iPhone and long-press the lock screen to enter the lock screen edit mode.
2. Now tap on the + icon to add a new lock screen.
3. Here, you will see an option called Photo Shuffle; tap on it.
4. Here, you can select featured images of different categories or manually select images. To select photos manually, tap Select Photos Manually, choose the photos you want, and tap on Add on the top right.
5. Once you have selected the desired photos, you can choose the frequency of the wallpaper shuffling. You can select the frequency daily, hourly, on tap, or when you wake your iPhone.
6. Once done, tap Done to finish the setup. You will see a new wallpaper every time you unlock your iPhone, depending on your choice of shuffle frequency.

iOS 16 Lock Screen Idea 5: Use a portrait wallpaper for depth effects

iOS 16 lets you add depth effects to your wallpapers. This feature can be enabled when using a portrait photo as your wallpaper. The portrait photo overlaps the clock, which gives it a 3D depth effect. Here’s how you can enable it on your iPhone lock screen.

1. Unlock your iPhone and long-press on the screen to enter into lock screen edit mode.
2. Now tap on the + icon to create a new lock screen.
3. Once there, you can select a portrait photo from your gallery or one from Apple’s stock wallpapers. The portrait wallpaper will partially cover the time on the lock screen to give a 3D effect.
4. You can swipe from right to left to add different effects to the wallpaper. Once done, tap on Done to apply the lock screen.
5. To disable this feature, tap on the three-dot icon on the bottom right and then tap Disable Depth Effects.

iOS 16 Lock Screen Idea 6: Link lock screens to Focus Modes

With iOS 16, you can now have different a lock screen depending on the focus mode of your iPhone. In other words, you can link your lock screens to Focus Modes. This can be helpful for many of us. For example, while at work, you can have a more formal lock screen. And when you get home, you can have a more playful and personal lock screen. Here’s how you can set it up on your iPhone.

1. Unlock your iPhone and long-press the lock screen to enter the lock screen edit mode.
2. Tap on Focus on the bottom of the wallpaper.
3. You will now see an option— ‘Link Focus’. Here you can select the focus mode you want to set for the lock screen. You can also add multiple lock screens linked with different focus modes.

iOS 16 Lock Screen Idea 7: Use Astronomy wallpapers

You can set new Astronomy wallpapers on your iPhone lock screen. This wallpaper will zoom into the home screen as you unlock your iPhone. Here’s how you can apply it on your iPhone.

1. Unlock your iPhone and long-press the lock screen to enter the lock screen edit mode. Tap on the + icon to create a new lock screen.
2. From the top carousel, scroll right to left to discover the Astronomy wallpapers option. Tap on it.
3. You will now see wallpaper options, including the earth, moon, and solar system. Select the one you want and tap on Done. When you unlock your iPhone, the wallpaper will smoothly zoom into the home screen of your iPhone.

iOS 16 Astronomy #wallpapers pic.twitter.com/lwXrl1pBQb

— U X G O D  (@uxgod1) June 8, 2022

iOS 16 Lock Screen Idea 8: Use Emoji wallpapers

You can also create unique wallpapers using up to 6 emojis for your lock screen. Here’s how you can do it.

1. Unlock your iPhone and long-press the lock screen to enter the lock screen edit mode.
2. Tap on the + icon to add a new lock screen.
3. From the top carousel, tap on the Emoji option.
4. Type in the emojis you want in your wallpaper. You can type in up to 6 emojis at once.
5. Now swipe from right to left to discover different styles. You can also choose the background colour for your emoji lock screen.
6. Once done, tap on Done to apply the lock screen.

Similarly, you can also set bold colours or weather as your lock screen wallpaper. Tap on the Color or Weather option from the top carousel and create a lock screen.

iOS 16 Lock Screen Idea 9: Switch between lock screens

Switching between lock screens in iOS 16 is very easy. You can change your lock screen with just a swipe and a tap.

1. Unlock your iPhone and long-press the lock screen.
2. Swipe right to left to navigate through the lock screens you have created.
3. Please tap on the lock screen you want to apply, and that’s it.

iOS 16 Lock Screen Idea 10: Delete lock screens on your iPhone

At this point, you might have created several lock screens for your iPhone. Deleting lock screens is also an option if you dislike any of them. Here’s how you can delete lock screens in iOS 16.

1. Firstly, unlock your iPhone and long-press the lock screen to enter the lock screen edit mode.
2. Now long-press the lock screen you want to delete from your iPhone.
3. Now tap on the Delete Wallpaper option at the bottom. This will delete that particular lock screen.

Customization is not something Apple usually does. But the lock screen customization on iOS 16 is something very immense. It is a fantastic way of making your iPhone your very own. This was a detailed guide on how you can customize your iPhone lock screen in iOS 16. If you have any doubts or queries, drop them in the comments below. We will try to help you out. You should follow this guide before upgrading to iOS 16.