Wired
iOS 16 has a new personalized way to set the “lock screen” to create your own personalized iPhone. One of the most useful new features in iOS 16 is Instant Activity, which is the equivalent of instant notifications on the lock screen. The new feature will allow users to track what’s happening right from the lock screen, like the score of a sports game, the progress of an Uber ride, or the status of a food delivery order.
Live events for the NBA, MLB and Premier League will be available in select countries, according to details on the iOS 16 features page. Live events for NBA and Premier League games will be available in the U.S. and Canada, while live events for MLB games will be available in more countries, including the U.S., Canada, Australia, the U.K., Brazil, Mexico, Japan and South Korea, Apple said.
During its WWDC keynote in June, Apple also previewed instant events for the Uber and Nike Run Club apps, and Apple showed Starbucks instant events on its iOS 16 page. In the iOS 16 beta, timers set in the Clock app also have an instant event.
In the initial public release of iOS 16, instant events will not be available. Apple says the feature will be added in an update later this year, suggesting it could be included as part of iOS 16.1 or iOS 16.2. When the feature rolls out, developers will be able to submit apps with instant events to the App Store.
Various widgets on the iOS 16 “Lock Screen” give you a quick overview of the content in your frequently used apps, such as weather, calendar itinerary, date, time zone, alarm clock, battery level, and the progress of the “Activity Record” circle.
Last month, Apple released a new ActivityKit framework that allows developers to start testing Live Activities in their apps. Apps that integrate Instant Events are currently only available for distribution via TestFlight for iOS 16 beta users.