Standby Will Turn Your iPhone Into a Smart Display

Smart displays are great. They provide you with information at a glance when they’re set down on a table, like the time, the weather, or some old pictures. Now, Apple will turn your iPhone into one.

Apple’s new iOS 17 update, which is due to roll out later this year, is adding a new option called StandBy. It will turn your phone into a smart display when you’re charging it over MagSafe and you set it down at a dock. It will show you a full-size clock, glanceable widgets, old photos, larger notifications, Siri, and music controls.

StandBy is a way to keep up with what’s happening on your phone, made to look big so you can look at it from afar. Basically, a smart display without the name. Apple has an extensive smart home ecosystem and actually makes some smart home hardware of its own, including the HomePod range, but it has yet to make an actual smart display. While this is not a practical replacement to one, as it’s your phone and you need to take it as soon as it finishes charging, it does show what a potential Apple-made smart display could look like.

If you want to check this out, make sure to keep an eye out for an iOS 17 update later this year.

Source: Apple