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Help me actually understand why Active Display is awesome!

TechGod

TechGod

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Original poster
Feb 25, 2014
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AFAIK, iOS has had those lock screen notifications since iOS 5, why is it being touted as a major feature on the Moto X but whereas no one seems to mention iOS has had this before?

I mean iOS allows you to swipe the notification on the lock screen to reply to it which seems similar enough to Active Display.

Is it because it uses AMOLED to only light up what it needs? Is that the only reason why it is regarded as an awesome feature.
 
Lloydbm41

Lloydbm41

Suspended
Oct 17, 2013
4,019
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Central California
TechGod said:
AFAIK, iOS has had those lock screen notifications since iOS 5, why is it being touted as a major feature on the Moto X but whereas no one seems to mention iOS has had this before?

I mean iOS allows you to swipe the notification on the lock screen to reply to it which seems similar enough to Active Display.

Is it because it uses AMOLED to only light up what it needs? Is that the only reason why it is regarded as an awesome feature.
Click to expand...

Active Display pulses on and off, giving minimal information until you tap and hold to get your info. You can then let go and it will go back to pulsing or open up that specific notification. This is in addition to getting your notifications by simply verbally asking for them, regardless if the phone is plugged in or not.

The iPhone just sits there with a black screen until you physically turn it on. It is a far cry from what the Moto X (and most Lumia phones) can do.
 
TechGod

TechGod

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Original poster
Feb 25, 2014
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New Zealand
Lloydbm41 said:
Active Display pulses on and off, giving minimal information until you tap and hold to get your info. You can then let go and it will go back to pulsing or open up that specific notification. This is in addition to getting your notifications by simply verbally asking for them, regardless if the phone is plugged in or not.

The iPhone just sits there with a black screen until you physically turn it on. It is a far cry from what the Moto X (and most Lumia phones) can do.
Click to expand...

The iPhone turns it's screen on by it's self when it gets a notification. Then it shows all your apps that have sent you notification and you can swipe to open that notification.

On iOS it also shows you info when the screen automatically turns on. I guess it doesn't blink but us that essential?
The third thing however is interesting.
 
L

LIVEFRMNYC

macrumors G3
Oct 27, 2009
8,780
10,844
TechGod said:
The iPhone turns it's screen on by it's self when it gets a notification. Then it shows all your apps that have sent you notification and you can swipe to open that notification.

On iOS it also shows you info when the screen automatically turns on. I guess it doesn't blink but us that essential?
The third thing however is interesting.
Click to expand...

That is not active display. That is simply just the screen turning on at every notification. Active Display should be THIS.
 
TechGod

TechGod

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LIVEFRMNYC said:
That is not active display. That is simply just the screen turning on at every notification. Active Display should be THIS.
Click to expand...

I just guess I don't see the difference. The fact that it turns on when you take it out of your pocket is pretty cool but IMO, that's all I see that is different to the iOS implementation.
 
B

beavo451

macrumors 6502
Jun 22, 2006
483
2
What do you think of a notification LED? If you don't "get" notification LEDs, then you probably won't "get" Active Display.
 
E

ecrispy

macrumors regular
Oct 27, 2013
187
29
Active Display means if you get an imp mail at 10pm which you missed, when you glance at your phone 30min later, it will still pulse periodically and will let you know.

iPhone won't do that, an Android phone without AD won't do it, but most Androids have notification led for this purpose.

It was one of the most innovative features of the Moto X.
 
Technarchy

Technarchy

macrumors 604
May 21, 2012
6,753
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ecrispy said:
Active Display means if you get an imp mail at 10pm which you missed, when you glance at your phone 30min later, it will still pulse periodically and will let you know.

iPhone won't do that, an Android phone without AD won't do it, but most Androids have notification led for this purpose.

It was one of the most innovative features of the Moto X.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a hit to battery life not directly related to real usage.
 
Savor

Savor

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Jun 18, 2010
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Technarchy said:
Sounds like a hit to battery life not directly related to real usage.
Click to expand...
It can since it keeps the sensors on which can kill standby time.

I use alternatives like DynamicNotifcations which isn't as good as Active Display but my only purpose is for the screen to turn on once I receive a message since I hate pressing the power button to wake up the screen. I use it along with SMS Wakeup. AcDisplay is also a good one but doesn't work on 4.1.2.
 
TechGod

TechGod

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Original poster
Feb 25, 2014
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New Zealand
Technarchy said:
Sounds like a hit to battery life not directly related to real usage.
Click to expand...

I don't think so with AMOLED.

----------
ecrispy said:
Active Display means if you get an imp mail at 10pm which you missed, when you glance at your phone 30min later, it will still pulse periodically and will let you know.

iPhone won't do that, an Android phone without AD won't do it, but most Androids have notification led for this purpose.

It was one of the most innovative features of the Moto X.
Click to expand...

I see, so with iOS it lights up then if you miss it, then it will stay off, whereas with the Moto X it will be there regardless of time?

So the functionality is the same as the iOS counterpart except it doesn't eat as much battery and stays there for how long you need it? So it is better in those regards.
 
H

Heavy Fluid

macrumors 6502
Jun 18, 2008
473
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As an X owner, there is a minimal hit to the battery life. Active Display is something that you get used to rather quickly. It is a really nice function to have on a phone.
 
Lloydbm41

Lloydbm41

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Oct 17, 2013
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TechGod said:
I don't think so with AMOLED.

----------



I see, so with iOS it lights up then if you miss it, then it will stay off, whereas with the Moto X it will be there regardless of time?

So the functionality is the same as the iOS counterpart except it doesn't eat as much battery and stays there for how long you need it? So it is better in those regards.
Click to expand...
I have both phones. Active Display is better in form, function and execution.
1. Display pulses to give you the time and all notification via their logo.
2. Tap the logo and hold and the information plus images appears at the top of the screen. Drag the icon up and it opens the app. Drag the icon left or right to delete. Let go and the notification remains. Repeat for additional notification.
3. Put phone in pocket or face down and screen does not activate at all. Flip the phone over or pull out of your pocket and the display comes on to show time and any notifications.
4. There is a very minor battery hit using this feature all day long. It is estimated to use roughly 6-7% battery over a single charge.

You get none of this with Apples lock screen notifications.
 
Fernandez21

Fernandez21

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Jun 16, 2010
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The last time I had the moto x I actually disabled it because I didn't like it as much as NiLS, which is very similar to my iPhone. While the pulsing is cool, you don't really know what notification you have other than it was a text or an email. You also can't take action on those notifications without opening up the app

With NiLS and now iOS8 I can see the list of emails and text messages I have, and right from the lockscreen I can see enough information from each email to know what they're about and mark them as read or delete as well as reply to texts on iOS. I find this much more useful than having to hold an Icon to get the info on a single email or text and then unlocking to the app to take action.

I do miss the way the screen activated when you pick up the device though.
 
JaySoul

JaySoul

macrumors 68030
Jan 30, 2008
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Fernandez21 said:
The last time I had the moto x I actually disabled it because I didn't like it as much as NiLS, which is very similar to my iPhone. While the pulsing is cool, you don't really know what notification you have other than it was a text or an email. You also can't take action on those notifications without opening up the app

With NiLS and now iOS8 I can see the list of emails and text messages I have, and right from the lockscreen I can see enough information from each email to know what they're about and mark them as read or delete as well as reply to texts on iOS. I find this much more useful than having to hold an Icon to get the info on a single email or text and then unlocking to the app to take action.

I do miss the way the screen activated when you pick up the device though.
Click to expand...

NiLS started getting quite hit and miss for me, so I started using Heads Up - which is different, but I like it a lot more. Can't do without it now.
 
F

fredaroony

macrumors 6502a
Aug 1, 2011
670
0
TechGod said:
The iPhone turns it's screen on by it's self when it gets a notification. Then it shows all your apps that have sent you notification and you can swipe to open that notification.

On iOS it also shows you info when the screen automatically turns on. I guess it doesn't blink but us that essential?
The third thing however is interesting.
Click to expand...

I like it because there are many times when you're not looking at your phone to see the notification and I don't need to turn it on to check. I almost always have my phone on silent too.
 
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