The iPhone lock screen has transitioned from a simple display of time and notifications to a dynamic, interactive interface. With the advent of live activity apps, your lock screen now serves as a real-time hub for updates and controls, offering tools that ...

A pretty small change iOS 26 brings to your lock screen is it changes the color of the controls near the bottom of your screen. This change is enabled automatically in iOS 26 so you just have to add a colorful control, or create your own, to bring a pop of color to your lock screen.

OS 26 changes how the iPhone’s Always On Display looks by default, blurring wallpapers instead of dimming them. While it improves readability, it also dulls the personality of Lock Screen images, though users can revert to the old style via settings.