Latest iOS 16 Beta Adds Full-Screen Music Player for Lock Screen - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Latest iOS 16 Beta Adds Full-Screen Music Player for Lock Screen

Apple today seeded revised third betas of iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 to developers, along with the first iOS and iPadOS 16 public betas. Both of these updates add a new Lock Screen feature - a full-screen music player.

lockscreen feature
Since iOS 10, the music player on the Lock Screen has been available as a smaller card-style player that only takes up a small portion of the screen with a miniature version of the album art.

With the latest iOS 16 beta, album art is shown front and center, and a separate smaller music player is available below it for controlling playback. The album art dictates the color of the background of the Lock Screen, but if you tap at the bottom of the display, you can go back to your standard wallpaper and minimize the player.

To get back to the album art interface, just tap on the album icon on the minimized player.

The larger music player on the Lock Screen is part of the iOS 16 Lock Screen overhaul that allows users to customize their Lock Screens with unique colors, fonts, and looks. Apple demonstrated the new full-screen music player at WWDC, but it was not available in the iOS 16 beta until today.

Related Forum: iOS 16

Popular Stories

iPhone 18 Pro Deep Red Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Next Month With These 12 New Features

Thursday August 6, 2026 7:03 am PDT by
It is now August, and that means the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are just a month away. The devices are expected to look similar to the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, but there will still be many year-over-year changes, with rumored features including a smaller Dynamic Island, 5G via satellite, and more. Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and a...
apple account card feature

Apple Account Card in Wallet Now Available in Four More Countries

Thursday August 6, 2026 6:01 am PDT by
Apple has expanded support for the Apple Account Card in the Wallet app to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Malta. The Apple Account Card option for Wallet started rolling out in 2022, and Apple has been gradually expanding to more countries since then. The card displays the balance associated with a user's Apple Account and can be used to make purchases in the Apple Store, online, or for...
AirPods Ultra Mock

'AirPods Ultra' to Launch as Soon as Next Month

Friday August 7, 2026 10:58 am PDT by
Apple has been planning to release AirPods with cameras as early as this year, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. If so, they could be unveiled as soon as September alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models and the long-rumored foldable iPhone. The earbuds are expected to have a design similar to the AirPods Pro 3, but with tiny cameras. Given the AirPods with cameras will likely be more...

Top Rated Comments

53 months ago
It’s a lockscreen, a glanceable complications center and an iPod.

A lockscreen, an Apple Watch and an iPod.

A lockscreen, an Apple Watch and an iPod.

Are you getting it?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
211 Avatar
53 months ago
Still no option to Like/Dislike, loop or shuffle. Who spends more than a second to look at the album art that Apple felt making it bigger was what people wanted?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tastesliketailpipe Avatar
53 months ago
Finally!

Artwork is important. At least it’s important to me. Brings me closer to the music.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BWhaler Avatar
53 months ago
Can you swipe on the album art to advance songs or replay? So odd Apple doesn’t have this feature, even in the music app.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BrownyQ Avatar
53 months ago
This takes me back to my first iPhone experience, when the lock screen would be dominated by the Music app when playing. I'm so happy to have this back, it's the small dumb things that make me happy.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
53 months ago

I have no problem with the album art and it can be prominently featured in the Musis app itself. But on the Lock Screen? How many people stare at the album artwork on the Lock Screen for long? I still don’t care as long as it doesn’t sacrifice functions that would be useful, but here it does (and always has done as these functions have never been directly accessible). At least give the user the option on what they want
You can turn it off by tapping the album art.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)