How to Change the Appearance of iPhone Notifications in iOS 16

Here's how to customise the appearance of notifications on your iOS 16 lock screen.

When it comes to the iPhone's user experience, notifications have long been panned. Many users, particularly those coming from or regularly using Android devices, despise the iPhone's notification system. Even those who consider the iPhone to be one of the best phones available and are unconcerned about notifications can admit that the system is a rather clunky affair.

However, with iOS 16, Apple has made some progress in this area, with a change in where notifications appear and how they appear on your lock screen. And now that iOS 16 is available for download, you can see what's new with notifications for yourself.

Notifications appear in a different location due to iOS 16 lock screen changes — you can customise the look of your lock screen with widgets. They are now stacked on top of one another at the bottom of the lock screen by default.

However, if you don't want your iOS 16 lock screen notifications to remain stacked, you can disable them. They can also appear in the traditional list format, which is how iPhone users are accustomed to seeing notifications displayed. Alternatively, they can be displayed as a number (the number of notifications you have), with actual notifications appearing only when the number is tapped.

Changing between these display modes is also incredibly simple, so here's how to change the appearance of iPhone notifications in iOS 16.

How to Change the Look of Notifications on iOS 16's Lock Screen:

1. Go to Settings.

2. Select Notifications.

3. Select a display mode to use in the Display As section at the top of the screen.

When you select Stack, notifications will be moved to a stack at the bottom of the screen, which will fan out when tapped.
Selecting List will display notifications in the traditional vertical list format down the screen.

The number of notifications will be displayed if you select Count. When the number is tapped, notifications will appear.

Message features are covered in our guides on how to edit an iMessage in iOS 16 and how to undo an iMessage send on iPhone. More guides are available on how to switch between the various lock screens you've created, as well as how to add Google Maps widgets to the iOS lock screen.