iOS 16 Debuts With Focus on Lockscreen, ‘Rise of Surfaces,’ and Consumer Experience

Apple’s 2020 AppTrackingTransparency announcement helped advance the advertising world towards a privacy-first future, but for some, the waves of change that followed proved difficult to keep up with. So, when Apple announced iOS 16, nearly a year after the enforcement of ATT, it’s fair to say that many of us waited with great anticipation for any new privacy surprises Apple might introduce to the app and advertiser ecosystem.  

But we can all take a collective sigh of relief. The iOS 16 update offered no major changes that will impact the trajectory of our industry and instead, updates focused primarily on improving the consumer experience. 

There is one major update with iOS 16 worthy of attention from the mobile advertising world: a customizable lockscreen. With this update comes the ability for consumers to personalize their lockscreen with unique wallpapers and widgets. On a similar track, Google is currently rolling out widget updates to their own popular apps, such as Google Drive, Chrome, Gmail, and Google Maps. 

This update does not come as a surprise to us at InMobi. We’ve been exploring the lockscreen’s potential for some time now.  

The Rise of Surfaces  

By providing even the simplest customization to the lockscreen, Apple validates what many other mobile-first companies have been evangelizing for years: Our smartphones are only just beginning to be smart. With the proliferation of 5G and consumers now using smartphones as their primary tool for daily life, the mobile ecosystem is ripe for disruption, and it’s clear that surfaces across iOS and Android are the future of both productivity and media.   

As lockscreens and homescreens emerge from under-utilized real estate relegated to just basic utility, we are finally seeing “The Rise of Surfaces.” This next stage of mobile innovation will empower publishers and developers to provide a new and unprecedented level of intuitive functionality as well as customizable and frictionless experiences for consumers that look like TV but act like mobile.  

Leveraging this "screen zero” real estate also reduces the noise and clutter of regular mobile browser time. It provides a natural extension of the surfaces experience wherein news, sports, banking and finance, games, entertainment, and video can be consumed by 6.6 billion smartphone users globally as curated, sharable experiences. And there’s no turning back from that. 

Other Updates 

As to not rehash what’s already out in the trade publications, here are a few sources we recommend to help you get up to speed on other iOS 16 updates:  

https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/ios-16s-best-new-iphone-features-new-imessage-updates-lock-screen-and-more/ 

https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/12/23348578/ios-16-download-rollout-availability-features 

Also, you can go right to the source for an exhaustive list of new features, including ones that will be released later this year.  

For a deep dive into all things Apple, SKAdNetwork, and identity, please visit our resource page here.