Apple appears to be taking a page from Google’s playbook, with plans to allow iPhones running iOS 17 to act as smart displays while locked.
The information comes courtesy of Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who says iOS 17 will include new display features to make iPhones show helpful information when they are locked. The goal is make the devices more useful, essentially being able to double as a smart display.
The view will appear when an iPhone is locked and positioned horizontally, operating similarly to dedicated displays offered by Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Amazon.com Inc., according to people familiar with the project. The idea is to make iPhones more useful when they’re, for example, lying on a person’s desk or nightstand.
The move is similar to steps Google took with its recently unveiled Pixel Tablet. The tablet is sold with a stand that allows it to act as a smart display when docked.
