iOS 16: How to Style Your iPhone's Lock Screen Picture - MacRumors
Skip to Content

iOS 16: How to Style Your iPhone's Lock Screen Picture

by

In iOS 16, Apple has added multiple options to customize the iPhone Lock Screen, including the ability to apply different styles or "looks" to your chosen wallpaper picture. This article explains how it's done.

ios 16 lock screen customization
With the Lock Screen in iOS 16, Apple set out to give iPhone users the ability to create something that looks slick like a magazine cover, but in a way that's simple and fun to make.

To achieve this, iOS 16 uses machine learning to analyze Lock Screen pictures, and provides you with a selection of "looks" to choose from. However, the end result is more compelling than just laying a filter over a photo, as looks are intelligently generated specifically to style the chosen picture.

The following steps guide you through the process of choosing and applying a look to a new photo-based Lock Screen in iOS 16.

  1. Unlock your iPhone with Face ID or Touch ID, then press and hold the Lock Screen.
  2. Tap the blue + button, or swipe leftwards all the way to the end and then tap Add New.
  3. Tap the Photos button in the top row of options.
  4. Choose a picture from your Photos library to use.
    Lock Screen

  5. Swipe left and right in the Lock Screen editor to preview the auto-generated looks that are available for this picture.
  6. When you've settled on the look you want, tap Done.
  7. Tap the Lock Screen you just created to activate it.
    Lock Screen

Note that you can customize the current Lock Screen at any time by invoking the gallery view from the Lock Screen with a long press, or by going into Settings -> Wallpaper & Lock Screens.

Related Forum: iOS 16

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple to Release These 20 New Products Across Rest of 2026 and 2027

Sunday June 21, 2026 7:42 am PDT by
Apple's annual WWDC developers conference is in the rearview mirror, but there is still a lot to look forward to over the next year and beyond. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman listed around 20 products that he expects Apple to release across the remainder of 2026 and 2027. Now that the more intelligent and personal version of Siri has finally arrived in beta, a...
Apple Logo Spotlight Blue

Apple Unveiled These Five New Apps Last Week

Saturday June 20, 2026 8:00 am PDT by
Apple last week unveiled five new apps, with four announced at WWDC 2026 alongside its upcoming fall software updates, one released in beta for developers, and one released independently by its subsidiary Claris. Siri AI App One of the biggest announcements of WWDC 2026 was Siri AI, a ground-up rebuild of Apple's voice assistant that for the first time comes with a dedicated standalone...
Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple Says CarPlay Ultra is Coming to These Vehicle Brands

Thursday May 21, 2026 11:53 am PDT by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly a year later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. CarPlay Ultra...