Apple can announce iOS 27 of Worldwide Developers Conference in June, and the operating system is rumored to be overhauling Siri and the camera app on your device. But when the tech giant was released iOS 26 in September 2025, that update brought more customization options to you The iPhone close the screen.
When Apple was released iOS 18 back in 2024, you were given the ability to remove or change controls on your lock screen — a welcome upgrade if you’ve ever accidentally turned on your flashlight while pocketing your phone.
With iOS 26, you can move your lock screen widgets, increase the size of your clock and give your lock screen wallpaper a 3D spatial effect.
Here’s how to bring these changes to your lock screen and what you can do with each.
Change the size of your lock screen clock
The biggest change that iOS 26 brings to your lock screen is the ability to resize your clock. The extended clock takes up about a third of the screen of my iPhone 16 Pro at most, which I like because when I put my phone on the table, I can easily see the time, even without my glasses. But you have to turn on what I like to call the big clock.
Here’s how to extend the clock on your lock screen.
1. Tap Settings.
2. Tap Wallpaper.
3. Tap Customize it under the lock screen you want to modify.
Your iPhone will show you that lock screen, and all the configurable items will be displayed. Your watch has a thick tab in the lower right corner of its bezel. Tap and drag this down to expand your watch to the size you want.
Then tap the clock to select Glass or solid design, and adjust the color and thickness. But after changing the clock size, you can’t change the font. Only the far left clock font is expandable at the moment, but maybe Apple will expand this to other fonts in a future iOS update.
Your lock screen widget dock can have a new home
Another change that iOS 26 brings to your lock screen is the ability to move the lock screen widget dock. The update allows you to place the dock near the bottom of your lock screen, above your controls.
To move your lock screen widget dock, go to Settings > Wallpaper and press Customize it under the lock screen you want to modify. Then, tap and drag the widget dock to the bottom of your lock screen.
When you expand your lock screen clock, your widget dock will automatically be placed near the bottom of the screen, and you won’t be able to place it anywhere else on your screen.
Local effects come in wallpapers
Your lock screen background image also gets a fun, 3D effect that Apple calls a scene. When enabled, spatial scenes add depth to parts of your wallpaper — and images — making them appear to come from you. As you move your iPhone around, those elements will move, too.
To change your lock screen wallpaper to a scene, go to Settings > Wallpaper, then tap Customize it of the lock screen you want to work with. Tap the hexagon near the lower-right corner of your screen, and your iPhone will turn the background image into a landscape scene.
It’s important to note that local scenes only work with images, not with Apple-supplied wallpapers, such as those in the Weather and Emoji collections.
Controls get a certain color
A nice little change that iOS 26 brings to your lock screen is changing the color of the controls near the bottom of your screen. This change is enabled by default in iOS 26, so you have to add a colored control, or make your ownto bring a bright color to your lock screen.
Personalize your lock screen
Apple has gradually loosened its grip on your iPhone’s lock screen, giving you more freedom to customize its look and feel over the years. And iOS 26 is no different.
Being able to expand your clock, move the widget dock to more than one place and being able to give your wallpaper a 3D effect are just a few ways iOS 26 allows you to create your own experience on your iPhone. These features could be improved — such as giving you more freedom in where to place your widget dock — but I expect Apple to continue adding ways to customize your iPhone’s lock screen in the future.
For more iOS news, here’s everything you need to know iOS 26.5 and iOS 26.4. You can also check out our iOS 26 cheat sheet.
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