- Turns your iPhone into a smart display when charging and placed sideways.
- Activating Standby: Go to Settings > StandBy > Activate StandBy mode
Apple’s Standby mode is a new feature that’s caught the eye of many iPhone users. It changes your iPhone into a smart display that shows iOS widgets, photos, maps, and more when your iPhone is charging and placed sideways.
A lot of folks don’t realize this feature is on their phone, and many call it Nightstand instead of Standby mode. But they’re the same thing. It just works when you lay your phone down sideways, and you need certain stands for this.
If you’re not sure how to turn on Standby mode on your iPhone, no worries. I’ll guide you on how to switch on this feature on your phone, how to use it for better productivity, and how to turn on some hidden settings of this Standby mode.
What’s Standby Mode?
Standby mode changes your iPhone into a smart display that’s always on. When the iPhone is in Standby mode, it shows widgets, multiple timers, weather, calendar, photos, and music.
Nightstand mode also gives real-time updates from your favorite apps using live activities, lets you control HomeKit-enabled devices, and shows rich visual results.
Your iPhone automatically goes into Standby mode when it’s connected to power and tilted sideways.
How to Turn On StandBy Mode
Step 1. Open the Settings app and choose Standby.
Step 2. Turn on Standby mode.
You can also turn on night mode to lessen eye strain in dim light.
Step 3. Connect your iPhone to a power source using a MagSafe or Lightning cable. Make sure your iPhone is on a stable surface and placed sideways.
How to Customize StandBy Mode
For better results from Standby, you can customize your lock screen standby display and your personalized widgets, and task. Here’s how:
Widgets View: You can add new widgets or change existing ones in the widgets view by tapping and holding them. You can remove a widget by clicking the minus icon in the top left corner, or you can pick a new widget and add it by clicking the plus icon. If you’re happy with your changes, tap Done in the top right corner.
Gallery View: Swipe left to enter the gallery view. You can now pick which photos will show in Standby mode by tapping and holding anywhere on the screen. Adding photos is as easy as clicking the plus icon. If you want to remove it, you can click the minus icon later.
Clock View: Finally, you can open a menu and switch between different clock styles by tapping anywhere on the screen.
Pros and Cons of Standby Mode
Pros:
- Changes your iPhone into a smart always-on display
- Control your HomeKit-enabled devices
- See real-time updates from your favorite apps
Cons:
- Use more battery life
- Only supports iOS 17 and above
How to Turn Off Standby Mode on Your iPhone
- Open the Settings app.
- Click on the “StandBy” option.
- In the StandBy settings, you’ll see a toggle. Click the toggle to turn it off.
StandBy mode is available for all iPhone models that support iOS 17 and above. This includes the iPhone SE (2nd generation or later), iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11 series, iPhone 12 series, iPhone 13 series, iPhone 14 series, and iPhone 15 series. But, some features of StandBy Mode, like the Always-On feature, are only for the Pro models.
Every hype only lasts for a short time, and now, a few months later, only a few iPhone users are using this feature. I asked many iPhone users, and they don’t feel this feature is special. So, I think Apple needs to add more features to this StandBy mode to get users’ attention.