Apple iPhone has lot of symbols and icons that will show on different occasions. For example, an orange dot in the status bar indicates an app uses your microphone while a green dot indicates an app is using your camera. Did you ever wonder why the iPhone’s time is showing in different colors? Here is the explanation for different colors of iPhone time.
iPhone Time Colors
The latest model iPhone shows the time on the top left corner. You can go to “Settings > General > Date & Time” section and change the format to 12-hour or 24-hour format. By default, iPhone will show in white color font without any background color.
However, the time will show one of the following background colors when you do certain actions or run certain apps .
- Blue
- Green
- Red
- Purple
- Orange
Note: If you are using an iPhone 14 Pro or a newer model, the Dynamic Island or Status Bar will display different colored dots instead of changing the color of time bar.
Meaning of iPhone Time Background Colors
Let us show some examples of the apps that changes color of iPhone time (in models earlier than iPhone 14 Pro).
Blue Color Time – Location Services and Screen Mirroring
This indicates an app is currently using the location services on your phone. For example, you can open Maps app to find a location nearby. When you want to follow the direction, you can select the mode of transport and tap on the “Go” button. Now minimize the Maps app and you will see iPhone showing the time in blue color background. First, you will see a location services icon showing as an arrow and then the time will start showing in blue color. Tap on the time to open the Maps app and continue your direction.
Similarly, iPhone will show time with blue color background when you use Screen Mirroring.
Green Color Time – Incoming Call and Personal Hotspot
iPhone will show time with green background color whenever you are attending an incoming call. You will see the time change to green background when you switch to another app while attending the call on speaker.
In addition, some time you may notice the time’s background is glowing from dark green to light green. First, the time will show as two chained links icon and then change to green color background. This indicates someone is using your iPhone’s internet connection through a personal hotspot. Tapping on the time will take you to the “Personal Hotspot” settings page. From there you can disable “Allow Others to Join” option to disconnect others from using your phone’s internet. Unfortunately, you can’t see the name of device(s) using your hotspot connection on iPhone.
Red Color Time – Screen and Sound Recording
This indicates a recording is going on your iPhone. It could be a screen recording app recording your entire screen or you might be recording the sound. First the time will change to a recording button and then it will start showing with red background color. You can tap on the time to stop the recording and save the file to your photos or music.
Purple Color – Sharing with SharePlay
You will see the time is changed to purple background when connecting the iPhone through SharePlay. For example, you can notice this when sharing a video from Apple TV (Videos) app through FaceTime.
Orange Color – Microphone Use
As mentioned, an orange dot on the status bar indicates that an app or service is using your microphone. Typically, the time bar does not appear in orange, as it displays green during calls and other functions. Instead, you may see an orange dot just above the network signal or at the right corner.
Summary
So, here is a summary of colors used on iPhone’s time bar and check our list to understand the meaning of all iPhone symbols and icons.
| Color | Purpose | Example Apps |
|---|---|---|
| Blue | Location Services, Screen Mirroring | Maps, Google Maps |
| Green | Incoming Calls, Personal Hotspot, Camera Usage | Video calling apps like WhatsApp and WeChat. |
| Red | Screen Recording, Sound Recording | iPhone recording function |
| Purple | SharePlay | FaceTime and Videos. |
| Orange | Microphone Usage | Audio calling apps like WhatsApp and WeChat. |
Yellow?
It’s orange – usage of microphone.
Orange background means? Thanks!
It means usage of microphone. Generally, you will see a orange dot on the front camera (Dynamic Island on newer models).
Does this drain the battery faster?
Yes, when the services are used like screen recording.