iOS 16 lock screen widgets make it easy to check the weather, appointments, and more without ever picking up your phone.

Widgets keep a sort of environmental data stuck on your phone. Just like you look at a watch or clock to check the time, you’ll soon be able to look at your iPhone’s lock screen to see—well, see—what widgets you’ve put there. This could be a great way to avoid the distraction of other apps on your phone, or it could just distract you even more.

"There's no doubt that smartphones are distracting. Whether it's the constant stream of notifications, the pull of social media, or the temptation to check email or play games, it's all too easy to lose focus when you have a phone in your hand," Brandon Wilkes, a marketing manager at U.K.-based Big Phone Store, told Lifewire via email. "But it's also worth considering that smartphones can be used to increase productivity and focus. And many people find that having quick access to information and communication can be helpful in staying focused."

The new widgets, coming to iPhone in September with iOS 16, look more like Apple Watch complications than the iPhone's existing home screen widgets. They're simple, monochromatic icons that can display the time, temperature, fitness progress or whatever else can be easily represented in a single small icon. They'd be handy on current iPhones, but rumors point to an always-on display in the iPhone 14 Pro, making them even cleaner.