Apple’s big iOS 17 iPhone update will launch this fall. I’ve been testing the beta version for the past few weeks, and while there’s no shortage of new features, my favorite is called StandBy. It turns your iPhone into a bedside clock that you can glance at, although it’s far better than just your traditional alarm clock.
It requires a phone with MagSafe, which means you’ll need an iPhone 12 or newer.
StandBy Mode in iOS 17
Todd Haselton | CNBC
StandBy mode can do all sorts of things. You can, for example, prop yourself up out of bed and swipe to see upcoming calendar events, swipe to check the day’s weather or view notifications at a glance. Or, if you’re more of a traditionalist, you can just let it sit on your bedside table showing off various clock faces.
Apple Standby.
Source: Apple
It works well on your desk, too. Users can set up StandBy mode to display a rotating array of photos from the image library, much like smart home hub devices from Amazon or Google. And whether your phone is stationed on your bedside table or on your desk, you can always say, “Siri, how long will it take me to get to work?” Or, “Siri, turn off the bedroom lights and play music by Miles Davis.”
StandBy Mode in iOS 17
Todd Haselton | CNBC
You don’t have to worry about a bright screen keeping you up, either. Your iPhone will automatically dim the screen, or turn the display off, when you switch off the lights. And Apple borrowed a feature from the Apple Watch Ultra: There’s a special night mode that changes the clock, calendar and text to the color red to make it less straining on the eyes.
StandBy Mode in iOS 17
Todd Haselton | CNBC
You can also turn on notifications that show detailed information from your apps. In my example above, UPS notifies me that my gardening gloves may arrive around midday.
StandBy mode works best with the iPhone 14 Pro, which has an always-on display. If you have a different model, the screen turns off but can be quickly turned on again with just a tap.
A pro tip if you’re interested in using this feature when it debuts for everyone this fall: Buy a MagSafe charger stand so that your iPhone is propped up next to your bedside while it charges. I use something similar to this $40 Anker stand, which charges your AirPods at the same time.
How to set up StandBy mode in iOS 17
How to set up StandBy Mode in iOS 17
Todd Haselton | CNBC
You can wait until iOS 17 is available to everyone or, if you’re willing to deal with some system bugs now, you can try it in the iOS 17 public beta. Once you have that installed, just:
Open Settings on your iPhone.
Tap StandBy.
Toggle it on.
Choose “Always On” under Display if you don’t want your screen to turn off. This works on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max.
Select Night Mode if you want the text to show a red tint.
Choose whether or not you want to see notifications.
Then, when you go to bed, just plop your iPhone on the charging stand in landscape mode, or sideways, and it’ll automatically remember to turn on StandBy mode and show the last screen you used, whether it was the clock, photo gallery or calendar.
Chief Executive of Apple, Tim Cook gives a thumb’s up during a tour the Apple Headquarters on December 12, 2024 in London, England.
Chris Jackson | Getty Images
Apple has triumphed over an effort from the U.K. government to keep details secret of its appeal against an order to create a “backdoor” to iPhone users’ data.
The U.K.’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal on Monday published a ruling dismissing the government’s attempt to prevent details from a hearing on the appeal from being made public. The government had tried to keep the information secret on the grounds it posed risks to national security.
Judges Rabinder Singh and Judge Jeremy Johnson said in their ruling that the U.K. government’s request to keep details of the hearing private “would be the most fundamental interference with the principle of open justice.”
“It would have been a truly extraordinary step to conduct a hearing entirely in secret without any public revelation of the fact that a hearing was taking place,” they said.
Britain’s Home Office was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.
This backdoor would allow the government to access information secured by Apple’s Advanced Data Protection (ADP) system, which applies end-to-end encryption to a wide range of iCloud data.
Governments in the U.S., U.K. and EU have long expressed dissatisfaction with end-to-end encryption, arguing it enables criminals, terrorists and sex offenders to conceal illicit activity.
In the U.K., the Investigatory Powers Act of 2016 empowers the government to compel tech companies to weaken their encryption technologies through so-called “backdoors” — a heavily controversial policy for both the tech industry and privacy campaigners.
Apple — which is known for its pro-privacy stance — has pushed back on efforts to weaken its encryption tools, saying this would undermine its security and put users at risk.
As a result of the government’s order, Apple withdrew its ADP system for U.K. users in February. In a blog post at the time, the tech giant said it has “never built a backdoor or master key to any of our products or services and we never will.”
“We are deeply disappointed that our customers in the UK will no longer have the option to enable Advanced Data Protection (ADP), especially given the continuing rise of data breaches and other threats to customer privacy,” Apple said in the post.
“Apple remains committed to offering our users the highest level of security for their personal data and we are hopeful that we will be able to do so in the future in the United Kingdom.”
U.S. President Donald Trump’s adviser Elon Musk reacts on the day of a rally in support of a conservative state Supreme Court candidate of an April 1 election in Green Bay, Wisconsin, U.S. March 30, 2025.
Vincent Alban | Reuters
Technology stocks teetered in volatile trading Monday as President Donald Trump stood by his sweeping global tariff plans following last week’s devastating selloff.
The Magnificent Seven stocks — Nvidia, Apple, Meta Platforms, Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet — were largely lower after briefly rallying amid a short-lived broader market attempt to stage a rebound. Stocks temporarily jumped on speculation of a possibly delay in the tariffs, but the White House later dismissed talk of a pause.
The technology sector is coming off a brutal week. The Magnificent Seven stocks collectively shed more than $1.8 trillion in market value during a two-day market selloff, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded its worst week since the onslaught of the pandemic and entered a bear market.
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Trump held firm on his aggressive global tariffs plans over the weekend, with an initial unilateral 10% tariff going into effect Saturday. Wall Street hoped for progress on negotiations between the administration and other countries or news of a possible delay in reciprocal tariffs slated for April 9.
“I don’t want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday night, downplaying the recent market meltdown.
Other technology stocks also looked to build on last week’s pain. Oracle and Palantir Technologies declined more than 2% each.
Some semiconductor stocks also struggled as investors fretted over potential demand destruction stemming from the tariffs. Advanced Micro Devices was last down about 4% each, while Intel declined more than 2%.
Nintendo on Wednesday unveiled details for the Switch 2. It’ll include a bigger screen and controllers and is a faster version than its predecessor, which sold more than 150 million units since its 2017 release.
The Switch 2 will hit store shelves on June 5 for $449.99, up from $300 for the original Switch. Like the first Switch, gamers will be able to use the Switch 2 as both a handheld console and hook it up to a television. Nintendo on Friday said it would delay preorders for the device following President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs.”
The device will launch with the game “Mario Kart World.” Other games comingfor the Switch 2 include “Donkey Kong Bananza,” “Street Fighter 6,” “The Duskbloods” and “Kirby Air Riders.”
Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser sat down with technology correspondent Steve Kovach in a CNBC exclusive interview after unveiling the new console’s details. Bowser touched on the technology boosts in the Switch 2, upcoming games, the future of Nintendo’s efforts in film and entertainment beyond video games, and what Trump’s new tariffs mean for console prices in the U.S.
