The nightstand
The clock you sleep beside.
One lamp, one phone on a stand, and a face bright enough to read at 3am without waking you up properly. This is the job StandBy was made for and the reason the night palette matters more than the day one.
StandBy
A nightstand clock
you already own.
iPhone on a stand, on charge, in landscape — iOS gives you a full-screen surface with a live refresh. StandBy is the best clock on your phone and almost nobody uses it.
- 1 s
- live refresh
- Red
- night palette
- 13
- fullscreen faces
Night palette after dark
In a dark room iOS shifts StandBy to a red-tinted view. These faces are drawn a second time for that mode instead of being tinted red and hoping.
Live seconds and sweeping hands
StandBy is one of the three surfaces on iOS where a clock can genuinely tick. Use it for the faces where the movement matters.
Landscape-first layouts
Wide compositions with the time set optically rather than mathematically centred, so it looks right from across a bedroom.
Live previews
Faces for the nightstand
Live and ticking.
Step by step
Turn on StandBy
- 1
Open Settings → StandBy
Switch StandBy on. Turn on Night Mode too if you want the red palette.
- 2
Connect to power
StandBy requires the iPhone to be charging — MagSafe, a stand or a plugged cable all work.
- 3
Lay the phone on its side
Landscape and stationary. StandBy appears after a moment.
- 4
Swipe to the clock panel
Swipe left or right to reach the clocks, then swipe up or down to change face.
- 5
Long-press to add WidgetClock
Press and hold, tap +, and pick a WidgetClock face from the list.
Questions
StandBy, answered.
Which iPhones support StandBy?
StandBy arrived with iOS 17 and works on iPhone models running it. The always-on display on Pro models keeps StandBy visible without a tap; on other models it wakes on movement or touch.
Why did StandBy not appear?
It needs three things at once: charging, landscape, and stationary. Miss any one and iOS stays on the Lock Screen.
Does StandBy burn the screen in?
iOS shifts the image slightly over time to prevent that, and the dark faces here light very few pixels to begin with.
A nightstand clock
you already own.
Free on the App Store. iOS 16+. No account, no ads, no tracking.