How Does the Always-On Display on the iPhone 14 Pro Affect Battery Life? and Other Information

For the first time on an iPhone, the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max have an always-on display that enables users to quickly glance at their device to see important details like the time, their wallpaper, and iOS 16 Lock Screen widgets and Live Activities.

Since the iPhone 14 Pro is the first iPhone to have an always-on display, there are a number of unanswered questions regarding how the feature will function, what it will look like, whether it will be customizable, and how it will affect battery life. Below, we address these concerns as well as others regarding the new features of Apple's most expensive iPhone.

How Does it Work?

The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max have an improved OLED panel with a more variable refresh rate that enables the always-on display. The new OLED panel in the iPhone 14 Pro can go as low as 1Hz to enable a new Low Power mode, which preserves battery life with the always-on display, in contrast to the previous-generation iPhone 13 Pro's variable refresh rate of between 10Hz and 120Hz.

What Does It Look Like?

The iOS 16 Lock Screen served as a major source of inspiration for the always-on display on the iPhone 14 Pro. When the always-on display is turned on, iOS cleverly darkens the background image and displays the time, widget, and, if any Live Activities are ongoing, those as well. The status bar's information as well as the shortcuts for the flashlight and camera are not visible on the Lock Screen.

Can You Customize the Always-On Display?

We are unsure of the customization options Apple will offer for the always-on display as the new iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max have not yet been shipped to customers. However, it's still possible that the always-on display will adapt to your customised iOS 16 Lock Screen rather than being inherently customizable.

Will Older iPhones Get the Always-On Display?

No. The more advanced display hardware on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max enables the always-on display. As a result, it will not be available for older iPhones, such as last year's iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. However, last year's iPhone will benefit from the redesigned iOS 16 Lock Screen, which is the basis for the iPhone 14 Pro's always-on display design.

Will it impact my battery life?

Apple claims that the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are power efficient due to the new display technology. The new display is paired with the A16 Bionic chip and a new Display Engine to power the always-on display, which will help control and manage power efficiency.

In terms of actual battery life, Apple claims that the largest iPhone 14 Pro Max will last up to 29 hours when watching videos (up from 28 hours on the previous iPhone 13 Pro Max), up to 25 hours when streaming video (no improvement), and up to 95 hours when listening to music (no improvement).

It's also possible that the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max have physically larger batteries to compensate for the potential increased energy consumption caused by the always-on display, but we won't know for sure until we see a teardown.