The lock screen is evolving with iOS 26 and Android 16, so I put them to the test to see which one does it better.

Layer on the ability to assign a default Lock Screen configuration for each new wallpaper … err, Lock Screen. Shop Apple on Amazon to support my work 🙏 Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed.

OS 26 adds new elements to the iPhone's lock screen that you can take advantage of when you customize the look of your iPhone ...

In case you've changed a wallpaper, only to notice that the top-half of your iPhone's lock screen has gotten blurry, you're not alone — and there's nothing wrong with your iPhone's screen.

Wake your ‌‌iPhone‌‌ and use Face ID or Touch ID to unlock it, then press and hold on the Lock Screen until the wallpaper gallery appears. Tap the circular blue + button in the bottom ...

Wallpaper The biggest customizable bit of the Lock Screen is the wallpaper. The large graphical element is usually a static image, but this time it can be more 3D.

Keep reading to learn how it's done. When you customize the Lock Screen for the first time, you'll notice that iOS 16 suggests you use the same wallpaper for the ‌Home Screen‌.

The most basic way to customize the Pixel’s lock screen is by slapping on a new wallpaper, and you can set a lock screen backdrop that’s different from the one you have on your home screens.

Due to the new lock screen, which has animations and images that interact with the clock and widgets, the iOS 16 wallpapers are no longer static images. Instead, they are rendered in real time.