The new iOS 16 update has some great customization settings that enhance the user interface of the software and one of them is the lock screen customization which can now be ridden with widgets such as alerts clocks, and beautiful wallpaper.

As of Sept. 12th, Apple has made the iOS 16 available for users across the globe on supported devices (the new iPhone 14 series will come bundled with the update by default).

In case you want you haven’t gotten the iOS 16 update, you can click here to download your own copy.

As far as the customization is concerned, you can pick your own interactive wallpaper, customizable clock, as well as widgets and even change the font of the lock screen UI to suit yourself.

Below is a short guide on how to go about this in full detail.

How to set a custom interactive wallpaper

With the new iOS 16, you can now make use of interactive wallpaper to enhance the look and feel of your device.

The process of doing this is pretty similar to the creation of a watch face on an Apple Watch.

While there are several ways by which you can create interactive wallpaper on your iOS 16-based lock screen, one of the easiest ways to go about it is by double-tapping the lock screen to turn it on when the screen turns off.

Afterward, make use of the security authentication means (FaceID or TouchID) to unlock your device.

Now, instead of swiping to enter the home screen (or pressing the home screen to go to the home screen), just long-press the lock screen.

If you are following up correctly, you should see a thumbnail preview of your current lock screen. (If you open the Settings app and select Wallpaper from the list of options, you can then edit your current collection or just create another one. Note that you can’t change between existing collections).

In order to customize any existing collections, click the “Customize” button at the top of the screen or click on the “+” to create a new one from scratch.

The system will open curated wallpapers in the “Featured” section even though you can scroll down to the “Suggested Photos” or “Photo Shuffle” sections.

The former will pick photos that your iPhone has determined would look good on your lock screen, while the shuffle option will switch between random photos of your own choosing, or based on category.

As of now, there are about four wallpaper categories that you can choose from and those are People, Pets, Nature, and Cities.

You can also select specific people to be included in the rotation – that’s if you have face recognition turned on in the Photos app.

Apart from the aforementioned categories, you’ll find more categories while you scroll down, and those include Weather & Astronomy, Emoji, Collections, and Color.

If you’re looking for the clown fish wallpaper that Steve Jobs infamously used to unveil the original iPhone and is finally making an appearance in iOS 16, you’ll find it as the last option in the Collections section. 

On the other hand, you can tap on the icon of each categories at the top of the screen to easily navigate to wherever you want.

Now, when you select a wallpaper, you can swipe to the left or right across the selection in order to view different variations of it.

If for instance, you are viewing the astronomy option, you’ll be able to see either the entire solar system, just the Earth, or just a closeup of your location on the planet, or even the moon.

After you’ve found the one you like, click “Add” right at the top of the screen. From here, you can either use it as a wallpaper pair or select “Customize Home Screen” in order to use a different image for your home screen wallpaper.

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How to customize the clock on your iPhone’s lock screen

After the wallpaper part is completed, you can then go back to the edit overview by “long-pressing” on your iPhone’s lock screen and then selecting “customize” below the wallpaper you want to edit.

Afterward, tap on the time and it’ll bring up about eight different font options to choose from. Each font you select will be presented in a preview mode with your specific wallpaper.

Notice that if you have a photo set as your background without any widgets below the clock, the time disappears behind an item in the image.

Not all images work with this unique feature, but when you find one that gets it right, it’s pretty darn cool. 

Apart from the font, you can also click on various colors and adjust the slider to preview what it will look like.

When you’re satisfied with what you’re seeing, all you have to do is tap anywhere on the wallpaper.

Add lock screen widgets to your iOS 16-based iPhone

Another thing you can add to your lock screen is a widget. According to official reports, Apple is allowing third-party developers to create widgets that can be placed on the lock screen in a way to provide glanceable information without necessarily having to turn on your iPhone (especially if you’re using the new iPhone 14 series with the always-on display)

Just like Android devices, when downloading and installing those app updates, one thing to note is that not all widgets will show up in the editor until you have opened the updated application.

That said, it’s time to add a widget to the lock screen of your iOS 16-based iPhone and that starts by visiting the customization menu (just the same way we did above) and then finding the lock screen creation you want or editing an existing one.

Next, click on the “Customize” button at the bottom of the screen.

There are two locations for widgets — the long, slim box above the clock where the current day of the week and date are located, along with the larger rectangle just below the time. 

You can click either box in order to bring up a menu that prompts you to pick which widget you’d like to use. The top widget area is best suited for apps that can display information in a single line of text.

There is a bottom widget area that has more room and is more flexible. You can have up to four 1×1 square widgets across the area or a mixture of the wider widgets with smaller widgets.

You can drag and drop widgets within the box to rearrange them, or if you decide you want to delete one, tap the “-“ sign that’s in the top left corner of the widget. 

You can also edit what info a widget displays

It’s possible to customize what information each widget displays when tapped once. For example, the calendar app wills how you all of your upcoming appointments by default but you can add it to your lock screen and when you tap on it again, you will be asked to select a specific calendar to use for any upcoming appointments.

Not all widgets offer extra customization, but the easiest way to find out is to add it and then tap on it and see if shows you any additional options. If nothing shows up, then you’re stuck with its default information.