The new Live Activities feature in the next version of the operating system will allow users to stay on top of things that are happening in real time, such as a sports game or a food delivery order, right from the lock screen. Live Activities can be done on the Dynamic Island.
We learned on Monday that Dynamic Island shows a live-updating score with the number of goals scored by each club on either side of the True Depth camera pill, which Apple refers to as a Live Activity's "compact" presentation. The Dynamic Island expands when pressed to show time and play.
Since then, Apple has shared its Human Interface Guidelines (HIG) for app developers intending to support Live Activities, and one notable detail is that on iPhone 14 Pro models, users will be able to switch between two Live Activities using the Dynamic Island.
When multiple Live Activities are active, the system uses the circular minimal presentation to display two of them in the Dynamic Island. The system chooses one Live Activity to appear attached to the Dynamic Island while the other appears detached. As with a compact Live Activity, people can tap a minimal Live Activity to open the app and get more details about the event or task.
The system displays the content in an expanded presentation, just as it does for the compact version, when people touch and hold a Live Activity.
There is an example of a minimal presentation of live activities.
The implementation Apple describes above should come as good news to those who would like to see two games played at the same time, where either one result or both could decide the season.
Apple advises developers not to offer Live Activities that exceed eight hours, and asks them to consider removing Live Activities from the Lock Screen after they end.
In the Dynamic Island, the system immediately removes a Live Activity when it ends. By default, the system shows a Live Activity on the Lock Screen for up to four hours after it ends to give people time to view its final content update. If the outcome of your Live Activity is only relevant for a shorter time, tell the system to dismiss it at a specific time within the four-hour window or immediately after it ends. For example, a rideshare app might choose to display a summary of the ride in the Live Activity on the Lock Screen for 15 minutes after the ride ends so people can view the final fare.
Apple notes that Live Activities can adjust their colors to look great in both the Light and Dark system modes, as well as on the dimmed screen of an always-on display.
The next version of Apple's mobile operating system will be released later this year. Adding support for Live Activities in third-party apps is one of the things that will be included in the update.
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