iPhone 14 Pro's Always-On Display: No Customization Features, Battery Life Saving Techniques, and More

Reviews for the iPhone 14 Pro and ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro Max have been published, offering a more detailed look at Apple's new high-end phones and all they have to offer, including an always-on display.

iphone 14 pro always on display
One detail confirmed today by the reviews is that the always-on display features no customization features, as it only displays a tinted version of a user's iOS 16 Lock Screen wallpaper, widgets, and Live Activities, if any are actively running. Users can't customize the always-on display, such as what information it chooses or whether it shows a darkened wallpaper or a black background.

iphone 14 pro always on toggle
Users can, however, disable the always-on display entirely from within the Display and Brightness section of Settings. Reviewers noted that it's too early to tell whether or not the always-on display has a material impact on battery life, so we'll have to wait a few weeks before we know its effect.

The new ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro and ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro Max feature more power-efficient OLED displays with a variable refresh rate as low as 1Hz. This is just one of several power-saving features that the ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro has for the always-on display. Today we learned from Engadget that in order to limit the impact of the always-on display on battery life, the ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro prerenders individual frames for elements that predictably change, such as the time, and feeds them to the always-on display when appropriate.

As reported earlier this week, the ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro intelligently detects if a user who's wearing an Apple Watch paired with the ‌iPhone‌ leaves the room, and when they do, it will disable the always-on display.

By disabling the always-on display when a user leaves the room, the ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro saves battery life and helps safeguard privacy as the display doesn't show a user's wallpaper and widgets when they're not present.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Adjusts Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday November 6, 2025 11:12 am PST by
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store. The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the U.S., according to its website. Maximum values for most devices either decreased or saw no change, but the iPad Air received a slight bump. ...
Liquid Glass General Feature

Apple Shares Liquid Glass Design Gallery

Thursday November 6, 2025 2:45 pm PST by
Apple is promoting the new Liquid Glass design in iOS 26, showing off the ways that third-party developers are embracing the aesthetic in their apps. On its developer website, Apple is featuring a visual gallery that demonstrates how "teams of all sizes" are creating Liquid Glass experiences. The gallery features examples of Liquid Glass in apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac. Apple...
airtag purple

Apple's Website Lists AirTag 4-Pack at Shockingly Low Price [Updated]

Friday November 7, 2025 6:40 am PST by
Apple's online store in the U.S. is suddenly offering a pack of four AirTags for just $29, which is the same price as a single AirTag. This is likely a pricing error, and it is unclear if orders will be fulfilled. Apple has not discounted the AirTag four-pack in any other countries that we checked. Delivery estimates are already pushing into late November to early December, suggesting...
ikea smart home devices

IKEA Debuts 21 HomeKit-Compatible Smart Bulbs, Sensors, and Controls

Thursday November 6, 2025 4:08 pm PST by
IKEA today announced the upcoming launch of 21 new Matter-compatible smart home products that will be able to interface with HomeKit and the Apple Home app. There are sensors, lights, and control options, all of which will be reasonably priced. Some of the products are new, while some are updates to existing lines that IKEA previously offered. There are a series of new smart bulbs that are...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Available Now With These 8 New Features

Monday November 3, 2025 5:54 am PST by
Following more than a month of beta testing, Apple released iOS 26.1 on Monday, November 3. The update includes a handful of new features and changes, including the ability to adjust the look of Liquid Glass and more. Below, we outline iOS 26.1's key new features. Liquid Glass Toggle iOS 26.1 lets you choose your preferred look for Liquid Glass. In the Settings app, under Display...
Early Black Friday Deals 1

The Best Early Black Friday Apple Deals on MacBook, Apple Watch, iPad, and More

Saturday November 8, 2025 6:16 am PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
Apple fitness plus feature

Future of Apple Fitness+ 'Under Review'

Sunday November 9, 2025 5:30 am PST by
The future of Apple Fitness+ is "under review" amid a reorganization of the service, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple Fitness+ remains one of the company's "weakest digital offerings." The service apparently suffers from high churn and little revenue. Nevertheless, Fitness+ has a small, loyal fanbase that...
maxresdefault

In-Depth iPhone Battery Experiment Pits Slow Charging Against Fast Charging

Friday November 7, 2025 1:19 pm PST by
HTX Studio this week shared the results from a six-month battery test that compared how fast charging and slow charging can affect battery life over time. Using six iPhone 12 models, the channel set up a system to drain the batteries from five percent and charge them to 100 percent over and over again. Three were fast charged, and three were slow charged. Another set of iPhones underwent...
apple watch se 3 always on

Apple to Remove iPhone-Apple Watch Wi-Fi Sync in EU With iOS 26.2

Thursday November 6, 2025 4:37 am PST by
Apple in iOS 26.2 will disable automatic Wi-Fi network syncing between iPhone and Apple Watch in the European Union to comply with the bloc's regulations, suggests a new report. Normally, when an iPhone connects to a new Wi-Fi network, it automatically shares the network credentials with the paired Apple Watch. This allows the watch to connect to the same network independently – for...

Top Rated Comments

Saturn1217 Avatar
41 months ago
The very first review I watched (MKBHD) says he turned off always on display specifically because he noticed an impact on battery life. So I don't think it is "too early to tell".

This is not the right way to do always on display. It is too bright and includes too much.

I would love a very dim view of clock + widgets + some kind of notification indicator on a BLACK BACKGROUND.

Android has done this right forever. There is no excuse for Apple to be messing this up when it took so long to come to the iPhone in the first place.
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mathiasdk1 Avatar
41 months ago
I have never understood the benefits of an Always-On display.

In a time where we use technology more than ever, it's a relief to turn off the screen from time to time.

And if someone/something is trying to reach me, the visual contrast and/or vibration/sounds will be plenty to grab my attention.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macsplusmacs Avatar
41 months ago
The always on / off + Apple Watch action is the new:

"Does the light stay on in the refrigerator when I close the door?"
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
antiprotest Avatar
41 months ago

The very first review I watched (MKBHD) says he turned off always on display specifically because he noticed an impact on battery life. So I don't think it is "too early to tell".

This is not the right way to do always on display. It is too bright and includes too much.

I would love a very dim view of clock + widgets + some kind of notification indicator on a BLACK BACKGROUND.

Android has done this right forever. There is no excuse for Apple to be messing this up when it took so long to come to the iPhone in the first place.
But Sara Dietschy says that she left it on for 12 hours untouched and the battery remained at 100%. Then again for another 12 hours and with a bunch of notifications coming in during the day hours and it went to 95%.

So indeed it's not too early to tell. We can possibly conclude that it does not negatively affect battery life. MKBHD probably used the phone as usual so he could not isolate how AOD affected the battery life.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NightFox Avatar
41 months ago

I have never understood the benefits of an Always-On display.

In a time where we use technology more than ever, it's a relief to turn off the screen from time to time.

And if someone/something is trying to reach me, the visual contrast and/or vibration/sounds will be plenty to grab my attention.
Which is why they included an option to disable it.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Spongmincer Avatar
41 months ago
"too early to tell whether or not the always-on display has a material impact on battery life".

Of course it will.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)