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

iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3

Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.2 With Alarms for Reminders, Lock Screen Changes, Enhanced Safety Alerts and More

Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.2 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
Google maps feaure

Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you. Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
AirTag 2 Mock Feature

Apple AirTag 2: Four New Features Found in iOS 26 Code

Thursday December 11, 2025 10:31 am PST by
The AirTag 2 will include a handful of new features that will improve tracking capabilities, according to a new report from Macworld. The site says that it was able to access an internal build of iOS 26, which includes references to multiple unreleased products. Here's what's supposedly coming: An improved pairing process, though no details were provided. AirTag pairing is already...
macOS Tahoe 26 Thumb

Apple Releases macOS Tahoe 26.2 With Edge Light

Friday December 12, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Apple today released macOS Tahoe 26.2, the second major update to the macOS Tahoe operating system that came out in September. macOS Tahoe 26.2 comes five weeks after Apple released macOS Tahoe 26.1. Mac users can download the macOS Tahoe update by using the Software Update section of System Settings. macOS Tahoe 26.2 includes Edge Light, a feature that illuminates your face with soft...
iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
maxresdefault

iOS 26 Code Leak Reveals Apple Smart Home Hub Details

Thursday December 11, 2025 4:02 pm PST by
Apple is working on a smart home hub that will rely heavily on the more capable version of Siri that's coming next year. We've heard quite a bit about the hub over the last two years, but a recent iOS 26 code leak provides additional insight into what we can expect and confirms rumored features. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Macworld claims to have access to an ...

Top Rated Comments

giggles Avatar
45 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
45 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
45 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
45 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
45 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)
bbfc Avatar
45 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)