iOS 17 is full of new features, big and small, that have got people excited. StandBy Mode is one such feature that has stolen quite the spotlight for itself. At first glance, StandBy looked like a merely aesthetic feature meant to turn your iPhone into a clock or a digital photo frame for your nightstand.

But the truth is far from it. With integrations such as Widgets, Siri, and, let's not forget, Live Activities, StandBy is a treasure trove of information you can get at a glance. But Live Activities can be somewhat confusing in StandBy as they don't appear in the same manner as they do when your iPhone is unlocked or locked but not in StandBy mode.

Live Activities in the StandBy Mode appear quite similar to Dynamic Island, but even they are different enough to stump you initially. Live Activities in StandBy Mode only appear in either the minimal presentation or full-screen mode to display information even at a glance.

Here's how you can view and switch between them.

  1. By default, a Live Activity will always appear in the minimal presentation. Tap on it to open it in full-screen mode.
  1. To go back to your widgets, clock, or photos, swipe up from the bottom of the screen of the full-screen Live Activity.

That is simple enough.

But what about when there are two or more Live Activities from different apps? Unlike Dynamic Island, StandBy does not show multiple Live Activities together. At one time, you can only see one Live Activity.

  1. To switch between them, tap on the minimal Live Activity icon. It will open in full-screen mode.
  1. Then, you'll be able to see the icon of the other Live Activity in the minimal presentation. Tap on it to switch to it.
  1. It will open in full-screen mode, and the other activity will go to minimal presentation. If there are more than two activities, you'll need to cycle through them in this manner.

    So, in our example here, I had three Live Activities going on – from the Music app, Timer, and the PixelPal app. First, I switched from Music to Timer. Then, the Timer full screen displays the PixelPal activity in minimal mode. If I want to view the Music Live Activity, I'll first have to go to PixelPal full screen.
  1. From there, I can switch to the Music app Live Activity, i.e., the Music Player.
  1. The live activity you swipe up on will be the one that will be shown in the minimal presentation when you return to the widget/ clock/ photos view.

The StandBy feature continues to enhance the iPhone experience by keeping users informed through Live Activities. While Live Activities function differently in StandBy than on the regular locked or unlocked screen, with a simple tap or swipe, you can easily switch between multiple Live Activities from different apps in either minimal or full-screen presentation.