Standby — the iOS17 feature that will always keep your phone useful
Last week, I wrote an article on the most interesting parts of the iOS17 beta. I left one thing out, though — probably the most exciting feature of all: Standby.
That’s because Standby deserves an article to itself, as it will likely change the way that you use your phone … or should I say, when you’re *not* using your phone.
Let me explain.
What is Standby?
Standby is a new feature of iOS17 that will kick in when your phone is connected to power and put into landscape mode.
When that happens, the entirety of your phone screen will be taken over by one of three modes:
Widget-based
In this system, your phone screen is divided in half and you get to choose which widgets go in each section. During the beta, those widgets are limited to Apple apps (think, Clock, Reminders, Calendar etc), but one would assume that third-party developers will also be able to build out their apps to be shown here too.
