{"id":349773,"date":"2026-01-03T10:39:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T10:39:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/349773\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T10:39:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T10:39:15","slug":"iphone-standby-mode-how-to-use-and-customize-your-display","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/349773\/","title":{"rendered":"iPhone StandBy mode: How to use and customize your display"},"content":{"rendered":"

You can turn your iPhone into a smart display on your nightstand, at your desk or in the kitchen using StandBy mode. It\u2019s an attractive way to put your iPhone to work as a small information board or digital clock when you\u2019re not actively using it.<\/p>\n

Of course, it works best if you own a phone with an always-on display. However, it works with any iPhone with MagSafe running iOS 17 or later. Best of all, StandBy remembers different preferences for different rooms, so you can set it up as a bedside clock in the bedroom, a digital photo frame in the living room, or a music controller in the kitchen.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s everything you can do with StandBy on your iPhone.<\/p>\n

How to use iPhone StandBy mode<\/p>\n

The iPhone\u2019s StandBy mode turns an idle Lock Screen into a dynamic, glanceable display. But it\u2019s easy to miss how much control you actually have over what shows up, how it looks, and when it sleeps. More than just a screensaver for your nightstand or desk, StandBy can surface widgets, photos, clock styles and live information with minimal effort.<\/p>\n

Plus, while you\u2019re using StandBy mode, your Live Activities show up full-screen, so it\u2019s easy to control music and podcast playback or keep an eye on a food delivery. And your alarms and notifications will look good, too.<\/p>\n

StandBy one of those great iPhone features that you should definitely play around with. Our guide breaks down how to fine-tune StandBy settings so you get the right info at a glance, save battery life, and make the feature feel intentional rather than incidental.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Table of contents: How to use iPhone StandBy mode<\/p>\n

How to put your iPhone in StandBy mode
\n\"iPhone<\/a>StandBy works best with a MagSafe dock like this one from Momax<\/a>.
Photo: D. Griffin Jones\/Cult of Mac<\/p>\n

To use StandBy mode, your iPhone needs to be (a) charging, (b) horizontal and (c) held steady in place. The feature works best if you own a MagSafe stand you can plop your iPhone onto. (See our guide: Best MagSafe cables and chargers for iPhone<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Otherwise, you can simply plug in your phone with a cable and lean it on something. To get StandBy started, just lock your screen and place your iPhone horizontally. As soon as it\u2019s charging, StandBy should kick in almost immediately.<\/p>\n

If you place your iPhone on different MagSafe stands, StandBy will bring up the last view you had open on each one of them. My phone always shows the Clock view on my nightstand and the dual widget view on my desk.<\/p>\n

How to customize StandBy mode<\/p>\n

After StandBy mode turns on, you have three different views you can access by swiping left and right: a dual widget screen, a photo slideshow and a full-screen clock.<\/p>\n

Tap and hold anywhere on the screen to customize a particular StandBy view. You can swap out the default widgets for things you find useful, specify which picture categories are allowed, and customize the color of the clock. Note: You can only customize StandBy mode while the feature is active. There\u2019s nowhere else in Settings where it can be edited.<\/p>\n

StandBy mode only works when your iPhone is placed horizontally. That complicates things on iPhone 12 models, where Face ID<\/a> only works vertically. So to edit your widgets or bring up the Photos screen, you\u2019ll either need to type in your passcode or unlock your phone before turning on StandBy.<\/p>\n

Set up the dual widget view
\n\"Screenshot<\/a>Two standard widgets (Clock and Weather) side by side in StandBy mode.
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones\/Cult of Mac<\/p>\n

The dual widget view is one of the best iPhone StandBy modes. In this view, you can put two Home Screen widgets side by side to keep an eye on things like news and weather. You can group Music and Podcasts, so you have a quick way to start playing some audio. On your nightstand, you can put Clock and Batteries together.<\/p>\n

Each widget is its own stack; swipe up or down to cycle between them. Tap and hold to add another widget to the stack or remove them.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re limited to two of the small-size widgets; you can\u2019t have one medium widget fill the screen. A few common widgets are missing, too, like Shortcuts. (Just imagine if you could fill an iPad<\/a> in StandBy with dozens of Shortcuts<\/a> widgets, like a control board! Unfortunately, StandBy only works with iPhone currently.)<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the list of StandBy widgets you can get from Apple: App Store, Batteries, Books, Calendar, Clock, Contacts, Find My, Game Center, Home, Maps, Music, News, Notes, Photos, Podcasts, Reminders, Safari, Screen time, Stocks, TV, Wallet and Weather.<\/p>\n

If you use third-party apps that support the iPhone\u2019s StandyBy feature, you might see some extra widget options.<\/p>\n

Use the photos view
\n\"StandBy<\/a>A photo I took at The Wilds<\/a>.
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones\/Cult of Mac<\/p>\n

The photos view in the iPhone\u2019s StandBy mode works very similar to the Photos Lock Screen<\/a> \u2014 it rotates between intelligently chosen pictures it finds in your library. It\u2019s like a digital picture frame.\u00a0<\/p>\n

You can swipe up and down between different categories: featured, nature, pets, cities and people. Tap the photo to see the location and date or to open the picture inside the Photos app.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t use this one too often, because I find it a little distracting at my desk. But in the right place, I can imagine it working really well. It would really sing on an iPad, but as mentioned, iPads don\u2019t have StandBy.<\/p>\n

Use StandBy as a desk clock
\n\"Screenshot<\/a>Clock view is like StandBy\u2019s dual widget view, but the clock is more prominent. However, it can display much of the same information.
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones\/Cult of Mac<\/p>\n

StandBy\u2019s clock view consists of one big clock that fills the screen. Clock view is handy for bedtime. If you wake up in the middle of the night, the Clock view makes it easy to glance over to see what unholy hour it is and how long until the dreaded alarm goes off.<\/p>\n

I actually prefer StandBy\u2019s Clock view to the dual widget view. The clock is more prominent and offers all the same information I\u2019d want from a widget anyway.<\/p>\n

You can choose from a few different clock styles by swiping up and down between them. The Digital clock, shown above, gives you a little bit of extra information to the side of the time: the date, the temperature and tomorrow morning\u2019s alarm. Tap and hold to customize the primary color.<\/p>\n

Analog clock view
\n\"Widescreen<\/a>The Analog clock view is not as practical as the Digital one, but I love it.
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones\/Cult of Mac<\/p>\n

If you want a rectangular, midcentury modern<\/a>-style clock, StandBy\u2019s Analog clock face is for you. You don\u2019t get any weather info with this one, but it\u2019s my personal favorite based on looks alone. Tap the circle in the lower right corner to change the color of the second hand and other accents.<\/p>\n

World clock view
\n\"StandBy's<\/a>The World clock looks like a news show set.
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones\/Cult of Mac<\/p>\n

The next clock view, World, shows a large dotted map of the world (a la Larry King<\/a>) with a current view of where the sun is shining. Time zones you set in the Clock app show up as orange dots on the map. In the upper left corner, you once again see your alarm, and below that, your current location.<\/p>\n

Solar clock view
\n\"iPhone<\/a>I don\u2019t entirely understand the appeal of the Solar clock view.
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones\/Cult of Mac<\/p>\n

StandBy mode\u2019s Solar view shows a digital clock with a pleasant, gradient-ish background. You can tap the circle in the lower right to pick from a small selection of colors, but you can\u2019t specify your own.<\/p>\n

Float clock view
\n\"StandBy's<\/a>The Float clock view is fun!
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones\/Cult of Mac<\/p>\n

This one\u2019s the most colorful of all of StandBy mode\u2019s clock views on iPhone. Called \u201cFloat,\u201d it shows the time in giant, bubbly letters. As each minute goes by, you\u2019ll see a fun animation. To customize the Float view, tap the circle in the lower right corner to switch between colors, including two-tone options. This view also shows your alarm info.<\/p>\n

How to view full-screen Live Activities in iPhone\u2019s StandBy mode
\n\"Screenshot<\/a>It\u2019s a bit like CarPlay for your desk.
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones\/Cult of Mac<\/p>\n

If you have music playing, a timer running, a DoorDash delivery on the way or some other Live Activity<\/a> running, you\u2019ll see a little icon on the top of the screen when your iPhone\u2019s in StandBy mode. Tap on it to show the Live Activity full screen. To get back, just swipe up from the Home Screen.<\/p>\n

Maybe you have your iPhone on a stand while you\u2019re playing music on your HomePod<\/a> \u2014 this is a perfect way to control it remotely with big, obvious buttons. It\u2019s like CarPlay<\/a> for your desk or your kitchen counter.<\/p>\n

Full-screen alarms and notifications
\n\"StandBy<\/a>It\u2019s much easier to hit the right button when your phone alarm goes off in StandBy.
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones\/Cult of Mac<\/p>\n

When your iPhone alarm goes off in the morning in StandByt mode, you\u2019ll see two big, prominent buttons. They\u2019re easy to tap when you\u2019ve just woken up. The orange button snoozes the alarm for nine minutes; the stop button will turn it off. In iOS 26<\/a>, a similar design is used for the regular alarm interface, too \u2014 only laid out vertically.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/a>In case you need to be reminded to take out the trash (and one other item), you\u2019ll see this notification in giant letters in front of your face.
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones\/Cult of Mac<\/p>\n

All iPhone notifications get a similar sort of treatment in StandBy mode. You first see the icon pop up front and center on the display. Then, after just a moment, the text fills in to the side. It\u2019s much like the notification animation on the Apple Watch<\/a>, except it\u2019s on your big iPhone screen. If you use your phone at work (and especially if you work on a PC), this will be a much more pleasant way to field notifications.<\/p>\n

Just like with Live Activities, you can dismiss the notification by swiping up.<\/p>\n

How is it using StandBy overall?<\/p>\n

A lot of people really love using the iPhone\u2019s StandBy mode. Making your phone useful even when you\u2019re not using it is an undeniably attractive feature. If you work at a computer, your iPhone need not be relegated to sitting idly in your pocket or on your desk \u2014 it can become a handy display board, a digital picture frame or a beautiful clock.<\/p>\n

It might even push people to upgrade to a new iPhone prematurely so they can experience StandBy as it\u2019s really meant to be experienced: with an always-on screen.<\/p>\n

More iPhone tips<\/p>\n

Read about more iPhone basics:<\/p>\n

We originally published this article on iPhone StandBy mode on September 22, 2023. We updated it with the latest information on January 2, 2026. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

D. Griffin Jones is a writer, podcaster<\/a> and video producer<\/a> for Cult of Mac. Griffin has been a passionate computer enthusiast since 2002, when he got his first PC \u2014 but since getting a Mac in 2008, he hasn\u2019t turned back. His skills in graphic and web design, along with video and podcast editing, are self-taught over 20+ years. Griffin has a bachelor\u2019s degree in computer science and has written several (unpublished) apps for Mac and iOS. His collection of old computers is made up of 40+ desktops, laptops, PDAs and devices, dating back to the early \u201980s. He brings all of these creative and technical skills, along with a deep knowledge of Apple history, into his work for Cult of Mac.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You can turn your iPhone into a smart display on your nightstand, at your desk or in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":349774,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[641,124660,75393,2306,135080,86,47,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-349773","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-iphone","9":"tag-iphone-how-to","10":"tag-magsafe","11":"tag-mobile","12":"tag-standby","13":"tag-technology","14":"tag-top-stories","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom","17":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=349773"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349773\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/349774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=349773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=349773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=349773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}