Alex Ruben
How To Display Full Screen Album Art on iPhone Lock Screen with iOS 18
If you’ve ever wanted your lock screen to look a little cooler when playing music or podcasts, iOS 18 actually lets you do that — show off full-screen album artwork or cover art. It’s kinda subtle, but it makes your media look more like a custom display. Problem is, the process isn’t entirely obvious, and sometimes the artwork just doesn’t pop up the way you want. So, this guide should help clarify the steps, what to expect, and some common hiccups that might trip you up.
Requirements
Before diving in, you’ll want to check a couple of things:
- An iPhone running iOS 18. You can verify this in Settings > General > Software Update.
- Media — be it music, podcasts, or videos — that actually have embedded album or cover art. If the artwork isn’t showing up, it might be because your file doesn’t have it embedded, or your app isn’t pulling it correctly.
How to Show Full-Screen Album Art on iOS 18
Get your media playing first
This is kinda obvious, but worth mentioning: you gotta start playing some media that supports artwork. Here’s how:
- Open your preferred media app — Apple Music, Spotify, Podcasts, or even a video in the Photos app if it has artwork.
- Pick a song, episode, or video that has proper artwork embedded. Not all media files — especially downloaded ones — have embedded cover art, so double-check that.
- Hit play and let the media run.
Once it starts playing, the magic begins.
Access and enlarge the artwork
This is where things sometimes get weird. After media is playing:
- Swipe left across the Now Playing screen to reveal the artwork. Yeah, that swipe gesture is kinda hidden if you’re not used to it.
- Tap directly on the album art or cover image. If it works, it should expand into a full-screen view, making your lock screen look a lot more stylish.
Not gonna lie, on some setups this might be tricky at first — sometimes you tap and nothing happens. It seems to work better if you wait until the music has been running for a few seconds, or if you interact with the artwork quickly after hitting play.
Minimize the artwork when done
If you want to go back to the regular smaller artwork or just tired of it being full-screen:
- Tap on the full-screen album art.
- It should minimize back down, returning to standard lock screen view or the minimized widget on the Now Playing interface.
Extra Tips & Common Issues
- If the artwork isn’t showing up at all, check if the media has embedded artwork — sometimes, files downloaded from certain sources are missing it. For media on Apple Music or Spotify, the artwork comes embedded, but downloaded MP3s might not have it.
- Restarting your iPhone can fix weird glitches, especially after a software update. Sometimes, the feature just doesn’t seem to work until you do that.
- It can be a little hit-or-miss if you’re playing from third-party apps. Apple’s own apps tend to handle this better, but don’t expect perfection across everything.
- Ensure your media app’s settings aren’t hiding artwork — some apps let you customize what’s shown or not.
Wrap-up
Getting full-screen album art on your lock screen can amp up the visual vibe when listening to your favorite tunes or podcasts. It’s kinda weird because you have to do the swipe and tap dance just right, but once it clicks, it’s pretty satisfying. Keep in mind, it’s not perfect — sometimes the artwork just refuses to show if it’s not embedded properly, or if the media app isn’t fully compatible.
If it works on one media file, but not another — don’t panic. Sometimes switching apps helps, or giving the device a quick restart might smooth out the wrinkles.
Summary
- Ensure your media has embedded artwork.
- Start playing media, then swipe left to find the full-screen artwork.
- Tap the artwork to enlarge, and tap again to minimize.
- If things don’t work, check media settings, restart your iPhone, or try a different app.
Final thoughts
This little tweak offers a more personalized look for media playback. Not every file or app supports it perfectly, but with some patience, you’ll get the hang of it. Fingers crossed this helps someone get a more visual experience out of their iPhone with iOS 18.