Every year, Apple releases a new version of iOS for iPhone devices. With this new release comes a plethora of new features. iOS 16 comes with several new features, like the ability to edit and unsend messages in iMessage and the much-talked about lock screen customization. Apple lets you change the style and color of the clock, add widgets, and even create multiple lock screens to automatically switch between them.
Along with visual changes to the clock and widgets, Apple has also changed how notifications are displayed on the lock screen. With iOS 16, you have three options for showing notifications instead of the standard way they appear. To better organize notifications on the lock screen, so they don’t get cluttered, here’s how to change the lock screen notification style on your iPhone.
Update your iPhone to the latest iOS version
This feature is only available on iPhones running iOS 16 and above. If you’re using an older version of iOS or have an iPhone that doesn’t support the latest version of iOS (iPhone 7 or earlier), you won’t be able to change the lock screen notification style . Here is how you can update your iPhone to the latest version of iOS.
Note that we used the iOS 16 public beta for the purposes of this article.
Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2nd step: Scroll down and go to the General section.
Step 3: Tap Software Update.
Step 4: If a software update is available, tap Download and Install.
Once your iPhone is running at least iOS 16, you can proceed.
How to change the style of notifications on your iPhone lock screen
As mentioned earlier, Apple offers three different options for showing notifications on the lock screen. Here’s how to change the style to your preference.
Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2nd step: Go to the Notifications tab to change the layout.
Step 3: At the very top of the screen, you will see three available options to choose from – Count, Stack, and List.
Let’s go through each option and see how they make notifications appear on the lock screen.
Display in numbers
This option will result in a minimalist looking lock screen where only notifications matter. With this setting, you cannot see your pending notifications in detail. Instead, you’ll only see the number of pending notifications at the bottom of the lock screen. This will make your lock screen clean and won’t reveal notification details.
Tap the notification count at the bottom to view a stack of notifications. If you want to hide notifications again, perform the pinch gesture on notifications.
Show as stack
This is the new style of displaying notifications on the iPhone. All of your pending notifications will appear as a scrolling stack at the bottom of the lock screen. Your lock screen looks slightly cleaner than the traditional list of notifications that takes up the entire lock screen.
Tapping on the stack would expand it and show the app’s individual notifications.
View as list
If you want your notifications to appear as before updating your iPhone, this is the option you should choose. This is the traditional way to show lock screen notifications on iPhone. It takes up the entire lock screen if you have a lot of notifications, but if you’re comfortable with how it works, you should stick with this option.
You can then scroll through the deluge of notifications on your lock screen and find the one you’re looking for.
Get your notifications the way you want
With iOS 16, you can make your iPhone lock screen minimalist. Luckily, you still have the option to view all notifications in detail on the lock screen. Depending on how you like it, you can choose the preferred setting. You can also try out each of the settings individually to see how it works for you before deciding which one you want to stick with. However, it all depends on whether you regularly receive notifications. Refer to our guide if notifications are delayed or not working on your iPhone.