StandBy mode is a headline iOS 17 feature that turns your iPhone into a smart display on your nightstand, at your desk or in the kitchen. It’s an attractive way to put your phone to work as a small information board or digital clock when you’re not using it. Of course, it works best if you have a phone with an always-on display like the iPhone 14 or 15 Pro.
However, it works on any iPhone with MagSafe running iOS 17. 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. Here’s everything you can do with StandBy on your iPhone.
StandBy is one of those great iPhone features that you should definitely play around with. It turns your phone into a dedicated info board that you can customize to show widgets, photos or your favorite clock face. Plus, while you’re using StandBy mode, your Live Activities show up full-screen, so it’s easy to control music and podcast playback or keep an eye on a food delivery.
And your alarms and notifications will look good, too. As mentioned, Apple added StandBy in . So, if you’re not already running iOS 17, you should go to to get it.
Upgrading may take about 20 minutes after downloading, so make sure you don’t start it at a bad time. If you’re already running iOS 17, you can find out all about using your iPhone in StandBy mode with the article and video below. Please enable Java.