iPhone's Lock Screen is about to go crazy

July 16, 2022

iOS 16 gives iPhone owners tons of options for customizing the device's Lock Screen. In our how-to, we show you all the crazy ways you can tweak the look of your device -- for good or ill.

It's going to be absolutely wild gaining this much control over the iPhone's basic look and feel when iOS 16 lands this fall.

Take a fun sneak peek at the vast array of options in this week's lead story. Or, if you can't wait to get in on the customization madness, you can grab the iOS 16 public beta and give it a whirl right now for free.

Just be aware that, as with all betas, bugs can and will happen. Your iPhone might end up with resting glitch face. 🤪

Have a good weekend!

— Lewis Wallace, managing editor

iOS 16 brings the most radical change to the Lock Screen yet. You can totally customize the look and feel of your iPhone. If you liked the themed custom Home Screens people were putting together using Shortcuts and Widgetsmith, you’ll love the level of creativity you can express on the Lock Screen in iOS 16.

News and opinion

The first reviews of the M2 MacBook Air praise its slimmer design and speedy M2 processor, with most calling it the best Mac for almost everyone.

Plus, more on MacBooks:

Now that Jony Ive and Apple have finally severed ties completely, it’s time for Cupertino’s current Industrial Design team to get the recognition it deserves.

A cryptic new video definitely makes it seem like the company, which is led by ex-Apple folks, is working on a transformative laser-projection system.

Plus, more rumors:

The collection of emoji will grow in the coming months, with the 31 proposed new entries including a shaking face, a donkey, a jellyfish and hearts in a range of colors.

Apple Music Sessions are newly recorded live tracks and videos available only on Apple’s streaming music service. The recordings will be from current stars and emerging artists.

With Bluetooth LE Audio now complete, next-gen headphones can incorporate an array of improvements.

Deals

When you spend a pretty penny on an iPhone 13 — OK, more like a thousand bucks, probably — you realize you better protect the expensive gadget. Good thing SwitchEasy offers all the accessories you need at affordable prices.

When you need to get some writing done, your MacBook screen can suddenly seem full of fascinating distractions. Not so with MasterWriter, a powerful tool that will help you craft your next masterpiece.

Why spend dozens of hours or thousands of dollars building mobile websites to showcase your brand? Linkcard lets you quickly design one-page microsites that are optimized for mobile and easy to share. Get the lifetime Linkcard Professional Plan for just $49.99 (regularly $478).

Reviews and recommendations

The Loot crew dons black tie and tails for a humanitarian gala this week. In the process, the Apple TV+ comedy swings hard for big moments of personal empowerment through kindness and self-respect. That’s all well and good, but maybe Loot needs something a little more caustic.

Plus, more Apple TV+ recaps:

The OWC MiniStack STX is just the right size to stack with a Mac mini. The hub adds three Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports that can be hooked to high-resolution displays and external drives. It also includes bays for SATA and/or NVMe M.2 drives.

The W5 AirTag Keychain Case looks like an old-school Super Nintendo console. And that's just one of dozens of cool Elago accessories in the Cult of Mac Store's retro collection.

Twitter might be going through a turbulent time, but for many of us in the tech community, it remains our de facto town square — a place where we can meet to share our views, opinions and hopes. It's even better with Twitterrific.

Setups

Some people dislike using a mouse. Others can’t fathom a trackpad. And believe it or not, some folks hate both. So what do they do to get their brilliant thoughts onto the computer screen?

Sometimes you see a pristine computer setup flaunted on social media and you think, how is that even real? Is it staged? Is it a render? At the very least, it looks like they left out all the cables for the photograph. But that’s not necessarily the case.

This M1 MacBook Air setup runs a new Studio Display in place of a 4K LG screen. And for input devices, the user opts for a Magic Trackpad over a mouse, using it with a pretty nifty homemade mechanical keyboard.