Apple leaves clues about AOD implementation in Xcode for next month's iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max

Developers @SteveMoser and @rhogelleim have discovered that the latest version of Apple's developer software, Xcode, already contains hints about expected functionality for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. According to the pair, Xcode 14 beta 4 features snippets relating to 'Always on Display', an element within Xcode's SwiftUI preview.

For context, the latest iOS 16 beta also has references to AOD functionality, as we discussed last month. Specifically, 9to5Mac demonstrated that iOS 16 has 'Sleep' wallpapers that activate when you put the iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 14 Pro Max in standby mode. However, @SteveMoser and @rhogelleim have recognised that iOS 16 resorts to a black background in AOD mode if you have a colourful background. This also applies if you are using a third-party wallpaper, which seems rather restrictive.

Moreover, iOS 16 switches widgets to black and white, theoretically further minimising power consumption. Ultimately, it remains to be seen why Apple could not enable this functionality on all iPhones with OLED displays. Reputedly, people have already found workarounds for enabling the feature on older iPhones, such as the iPhone X.

Allegedly, Apple's reasoning will be because only the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max can drop their display refresh rates as low as 1 Hz, with their predecessors' stuck at 10x higher than that. Presumably, Apple will discuss this during its iPhone 14 series launch event, which is currently rumoured for sometime during September. 

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