Live Activities come to iPhone with iOS 16.1
Apple has released iOS 16.1, allowing developers to release apps featuring Live Activities — a way to display live app data on the iPhone Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island.
Live Activities will make it easy to stay on top of things happening in real-time, right from the Lock Screen, such as a sports game, ride-share, or food delivery order. For example, a food delivery app could display the time remaining until a food order arrives, or a sports app can display the score for an ongoing game.
Now that iOS 16.1 has been released, developers have the ability to add Live Activities to their apps, with the first set of compatible apps supporting live app data on the iPhone Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island expected to hit the App Store today.
Apple says a Live Activity can be active for up to eight hours unless an app or the user ends it. After this limit, the system automatically ends it. When a Live Activity ends, the system immediately removes it from the Dynamic Island. However, the Live Activity remains on the Lock Screen until the user removes it or for up to four additional hours before the system removes it — whichever comes first. As a result, a Live Activity remains on the Lock Screen for a maximum of twelve hours.