Hands-On With iOS 10's Overhauled Lock Screen

The Lock screen experience in iOS 10 has been completely overhauled, with a new widgets side panel, a redesigned Control Center, revamped notifications, quicker camera access, and the removal of the iconic "Slide to Unlock" feature.

As can be seen in the hands-on video below, Slide to Unlock, formerly accessible through a right swipe, has been retired. Swiping right now brings up a widgets side panel, while swiping left opens up the Camera app. The widgets panel houses widgets formerly located in the "Today" view of the Notification Center.


The unlocking mechanism has been changed because with Touch ID, it was easy to bypass the Lock screen too quickly, making it difficult to see notifications.

New on the Lock screen is a "Raise to Wake" feature, exclusive to the iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, and SE, all three of which have an A9/M9 processor. There's also a redesigned Control Center and rich notifications, both of which support 3D Touch. In the Control Center, a 3D Touch on Flashlight, Timer, or Camera brings up different options, while 3D pressing on an incoming notification offers up options like replying to messages directly from the Lock screen.

In case you missed it, make sure to check out our seven minute WWDC 2016 video, which features a quick rundown on all of the new iOS, macOS Sierra, tvOS, and watchOS features Apple introduced this week, and stay tuned to MacRumors for more in-depth software videos.

Related Forum: iOS 10

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Shows Off a Key Reason to Upgrade to the iPhone 17

Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie. "Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
m5 macbook pro deal

Why You Shouldn't Buy the Next MacBook Pro

Tuesday February 10, 2026 4:27 pm PST by
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models as soon as early March, but if you can, this is one generation you should skip because there's something much better in the works. We're waiting on 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, with few changes other than the processor upgrade. There won't be any tweaks to the design or the display, but later this...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says These 7 U.S. States Plan to Offer iPhone Driver's Licenses

Monday February 9, 2026 6:24 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, and then use it to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. The feature is currently available in 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and it is expected to launch in at least seven more in the future. To set up the...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3

Wednesday February 11, 2026 10:07 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3, the latest updates to the iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 operating systems that came out in September. The new software comes almost two months after Apple released iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. According to Apple's release notes, ...
Apple Logo Zoomed

Apple Expected to Launch These 10+ Products Over the Coming Months

Tuesday February 10, 2026 6:33 am PST by
It has been a slow start to 2026 for Apple product launches, with only a new AirTag and a special Apple Watch band released so far. We are still waiting for MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the iPhone 17e, a lower-cost MacBook with an iPhone chip, long-rumored updates to the Apple TV and HomePod mini, and much more. Apple is expected to release/update the following products...

Top Rated Comments

blairh Avatar
126 months ago
Making me swipe left to control music playback is terrible.
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)
126 months ago
So does this mean someone can reply to your messages, interact with notifications, etc, without unlocking the phone?
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
126 months ago
Not sure if people replied to this yet, but
Thank goodness. On the 6S, the touch ID is so fast that it's almost impossible to turn on without unlocking the phone. This will really help.
iPhone still unlocks if you click the home button once to wake up the display. The same exact problem still exists. I don't know why people think this is fixed.

Semantically it makes sense to take widgets out of the Notification Pane, but this presumably means you'll have to exit whatever app you're in to get to your widgets. I pull down Notifications all the time when I'm in an app in order to use the Hue widget. Seems like this will require a couple more steps. Also not sure why the Play/Pause needs its own control center area.
The widgets are still in the notification centre when you are in an app. Swipe left on the notification centre.

So does this mean someone can reply to your messages, interact with notifications, etc, without unlocking the phone?
Yep, just like iOS 9. Nothing changed at all.

So nobody here questions that a thief is able to see your messages, or personal information by swiping or using force touch. Or that they can just use airplane mode or that they can just take out the SIM and then Find My iPhone doesn't work? Surely this was considered during development right?
...just like iOS 9. Please do your research before getting other people worried about non-issues. You can disable control centre access from lock screen. Again, just like iOS 9. And there's nothing Apple can do about the ability to take out SIM cards.

I'm not a fan of how Widgets are now available in only two places, the left of the lock screen and the left of the home screen. Before, I could access widgets from anywhere on the device through Notification Center. This is what made them useful, the ability to see them from anywhere.

Widgets will essentially be useless for me if I have to exit the app I am using to see them. I really hope that they change this.
They're still available if you swipe left in the notification centre as long as you're in an app.

And yet, there's still no weather display on the lock screen...

What has Apple got against this feature?
You can add it to lock screen widgets, just a left swipe away.

I am very worried about security with the new unlocking system.
K well downgrade to iOS 6 because nothing has changed security-wise since iOS 9. You're able to reply to messages in iOS 9 from the lock screen too, you know... Or maybe not.

Theres too many security holes in the new lock screen...

* Replying with messages
* Calendar access
* Mail access

That can cause serious issues, especially with business-related stuff.
rofl it's... Oh I give up.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
126 months ago
Thank goodness. On the 6S, the touch ID is so fast that it's almost impossible to turn on without unlocking the phone. This will really help.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
126 months ago
So nobody here questions that a thief is able to see your messages, or personal information by swiping or using force touch. Or that they can just use airplane mode or that they can just take out the SIM and then Find My iPhone doesn't work? Surely this was considered during development right?
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
n8cousins Avatar
126 months ago
Theres too many security holes in the new lock screen...
Except that's completely false. The lock screen is exactly as secure/insecure as your current iOS. The only differences are visual.

I wish people would actually use this stuff before making negative, uninformed comments.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)