Tech Desk
Sep 02, 2024
Users are anticipating an iPhone 16 series launch and a full release of iOS 18 at Apple’s September 9 event which is just around the corner to happen and it seems like the new iPhone software is set to downgrade the functionality of Live Activities in one important way.
Apple is set to limit the rate at which these widgets can refresh themselves — which is going to cause issues for apps that need to display real-time activity information like cycling speed as you’re moving.
These Live Activities widgets were introduced with iOS 16 in 2022, and they worked like improved notifications on the Lock Screen or in the Dynamic Island: they can keep you up to date with various scores, like sports scores or the estimated arrival time of an approaching cab.
The Curpertino-based tech giant explained that each update from a Live Activities widget needs data to be written to the storage on the iPhone.
Read more: Apple’s upcoming new Mac Mini might ditch USB-A port
Moreover, each of those updates is required to be synced to an Apple Watch, if one is linked. While the downgrade will disappoint some, it should improve battery life and the lifespan of the internal iPhone storage.
It looks like update intervals are now set at 5-15 seconds, though this won't impact anything with a timer, like a notification displaying a delivery driver's arrival time.
Apple announced plenty of new features to be released with iOS 18 at its upcoming event.
