The iPad may get Lock Screen Widgets in iPadOS 17, and like some other iPhone-only features, they'll be even more useful on the iPad's big, gorgeous display.
As rumors and leaks continue, This is one At the “like it” end of the scale, obviously. When the iPhone got widgets in iOS 14, the iPad followed suit in iPadOS 15. Last year, the iPhone got lock screen widgets and customizations in iOS 16, so it won’t surprise anyone that the iPad is getting them too. And unlike the iPhone, which struggles to squeeze more than a handful of widgets, the iPad has plenty of room for this and more. In fact, some iPhone UI features will be even better on the iPad.
Says Charles Shaw, iPad user and weather watcher at MacRumors About the new feature: “The weather wallpaper will become a permanent background for your iPad. My site benefits from each weather image and changes frequently.”.
iPad Lock Screen Widgets = Useful
The iPhone's lock screen is incredibly complex. First, there are the Lock Screen Widgets, of which you can only add four (five, if you choose to replace the date display above the time). Next, there are Live Activities, which allow apps to show real-time updates for things like sports scores or flight status.
Finally, separate from the lock screen but still related – and still iPhone-only – is the Dynamic Island, Apple's whimsical status and alert box that never leaves the screen, turning the cropped camera into a vital assistant, like Clippy Who nobody. Hates.
Attached to a stand or mounted on a Magic Keyboard, your iPad will be a perfect, easy-to-see information center.
I would argue that all of these things are great, but they will be even bigger on the iPad, thanks in part to its larger screen but also because of the completely different way we interact with it.
But not everyone agrees. It all depends on how you use your iPad.
The user interface designer said Graham Bower “If you're using your iPad as a Mac, all set up on your desk and so on, maybe,” he said. “But for most people, this will be useless.”
First, you can fit a lot on your iPad screen. To be fair, the iPhone's four (or five) widget limit is arbitrary. Obviously, there's room for more widgets, but Apple has chosen to keep them sparse and uncluttered. The iPad screen can also hold larger widgets with more information. iPhone widgets are simply icons that convey information. The iPad can display richer widgets, like a custom panel that displays what's playing now, the weather, a to-do list, or any of the widgets you already have on your Home screen.
iPadOS 17 Always On
This brings us to Live Activities, which are essentially Home Screen widgets on the Lock screen. Live Activities let you glance at a locked device and instantly see the latest soccer score/pizza delivery status/taxi ETA. It works best with the iPhone 14 Pro's always-on display, but it will also work best with an iPad. Why? Because your iPad isn't always in your pocket.
When used in a normal way, the advantage is that you can fit more UI elements on the screen, and widgets aren't just stupid icons displaying data: they can perform custom functions when tapped, like playing the latest episode of your favorite podcast.
But leaving your iPad propped up on a desk, kitchen counter, or anywhere else makes a great status bar. This is where an always-on display makes perfect sense. Who needs a phone screen that's always on when the thing's in and out of your pocket? But propped up on a stand or mounted on the Magic Keyboard, your iPad will be a perfect information hub.
The only problem with this idea is that an always-on display requires OLED, which only has to light up the pixels needed to keep it going without burning through the battery. OLED displays may come to the iPad. Either this year or next , although, of course, no one outside Apple is sure.
Finally, the iPhone's Dynamic Island is even better on the iPad. The island started out as a way to hide the iPhone's camera cutout but has evolved into a beloved UI element. On the iPad, it's much easier to get the little island out of the way, but more importantly, there's no camera cutout on the iPad screen, so the Dynamic Island can move anywhere.
