iOS 16 has been a great update for Apple’s mobile devices as it introduces not only new features but also brings exclusive features for the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. These new iPhones are the first from Apple to come with an Always-on Display. Apple’s take on AOD had been slightly different, where instead of the entire screen going black, the display was dimmed, and the refresh rate was dynamically reduced to 1Hz.
Needless to say, this did not fit well with many users and reviewers around the world, as most would inadvertently end up checking their phones, assuming it was a notification and not the AOD. Apple seems to have recognized and corrected this issue in the latest version of iOS 16 by adding the ability to disable wallpaper and notifications when using the AOD.
So if you’ve found the AOD on your iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max too distracting, then here’s how you can turn off wallpaper and notifications.
How to turn off wallpaper and notifications on AOD on iPhone
Start by familiarizing yourself with the requirements for using these new features on your iPhone using the first section below. You can then use the subsequent guide to enable or disable wallpaper and notifications based on your preferences.
Requirements
- iOS 16.2 or higher
- iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 14 Pro Max
As of writing this post, iOS 16.2 is currently in beta, and this feature is available with the release of iOS 16.3 dev beta three and higher. If you’re looking to use these features immediately, then we recommend installing the beta version. However, if you’d like to avoid beta versions of iOS due to battery and bug concerns, we recommend waiting until the public release, which should happen by next month.
Step-by-step guide
Once you have updated your iPhone, here’s how you can toggle and turn off wallpaper and notifications for AOD on your iPhone.
Open the Settings app and tap Display & Brightness.
Now tap and Always-on Display at the bottom.
Ensure the toggle for Always-on Display is turned on at the top.
Now tap and turn off the toggle for Show Wallpaper if you wish to hide your wallpaper when using AOD.
Similarly, tap and turn off the toggle for Notifications if you wish to disable notifications when using AOD.
You can now lock your device and try out the new look for your AOD.
And that’s it! You will now have turned off wallpaper and notifications when using AOD on your iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max.
Other ways to minimize the look of AOD
There are a few other ways you can minimize the look of AOD on your iPhone. You can choose to dim your AOD, customize your lock screen for a minimal look and add widgets you prefer based on your aesthetic.
Custom widgets have come a long way, and they can help add minimal widgets to your iOS 16 lock screen, which wasn’t possible earlier. Use this comprehensive post by us to get a very minimal look for your AOD screen.
We hope this post helped you easily toggle wallpaper and notifications for AOD on your iPhone. If you face any issues or have any more questions for us, feel free to reach out using the comments below.
