Yes, You Can Turn Off the iPhone 14 Pro's Always-On Display. Here's How
If you find the new feature distracting or annoying, it's easy to turn off.
Always-On display featured on the iPhone on the right.
The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max both have a new and efficient always-on display. Instead of turning off when your phone isn't in use, the wallpaper on your lock screen darkens, keeping the date, time, widgets and other important information on your screen illuminated.
Read more: What's New in the iPhone 14: Everything Apple Changed Since iPhone 13
It's a welcome new feature for the iPhone (especially since Samsung Galaxy phones have had it since 2016), but not everyone is happy with the AOD.
Although Apple claims the AOD uses "minimal power," some iPhone 14 Pro users have taken to Twitter to complain about battery drain issues with it. Others are unhappy with its brightness, especially when it's charging at their bedside at night.
If you've recently purchased an iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max and are unsure about the new AOD, here's you can disable it.
How does the always-on display work?
The iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models both come with ProMotion 120Hz screens, which means that your display refreshes 120 times a second. The higher the refresh rate, the smoother, sharper, faster and more responsive your screen feels, which is good, but it does consume quite a bit of power.
While the iPhone 13 Pro models have the same ProMotion 120Hz screens, they don't have the ability to change their refresh rates. Only the iPhone 14 Pro models are capable of reducing their displays to as little as 1Hz and refreshing only a single time per second, which enables the dark, power-efficient AOD.
Only the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max have the AOD.
Always-on display temporarily turns itself off
Despite its name, the AOD will occasionally shut off. Apple has a list of instances when the display is turned completely off in order to conserve battery:
- Your iPhone is face down
- Your iPhone is in your pocket or bag
- Your iPhone is connected to CarPlay
- Your iPhone is connected to your Apple Watch and you walk away.
- Your iPhone is idle for a while (according to Apple, your iPhone learns your patterns and turns the AOD off automatically)
- Sleep Focus is enabled
- Low Power Mode is enabled
- You're using Continuity Camera
How to completely turn off always-on display
All of the situations above will turn off the AOD temporarily, but there is a way to manually disable the new iPhone feature entirely if you're not a fan.
In the Settings application, go to Display & Brightness, scroll all the way down to the bottom and toggle off Always On.
Go to Settings > Display & Brightness to turn off the AOD.
If you want to learn more about the iPhone 14, check out the iPhone 14's newest features that have been on Android for years and what the iPhone 14 Pro's camera can do.