Why is Apple so damn stubborn to never include notification LED in its iPhone brand?

[blwade]

First, there seems to be a persistent presumption here that users... even wear pants... None of those conditions apply to me, and I know I'm not alone.

You don't wear pants?!

How do you get away with it?!?!

 

[Bobby Corwen]

What about text replacement apps such as WhatsApp or FB Messenger? No such options.

Yes, you do get notified for all those apps. Just not twice. Usually with such things, its a less broad spectrum of people trying to reach you, and if you converse with a few people often on messenger apps, you usually know who you're talking to and its a predictable frequency.

While a text is your public phone number and its more general in scope.

Many people have other things to do instead of checking their phone 24/7, and only check if there is something worth checking.. Such as new email or messages. Which a light would be able to inform you of and would save you the hassle of dropping what you're doing.

Well didn't you HEAR the message beep?? If you're busy doing other things thats fine, but don't act like now the messages don't light up and indicate. You can still hear the notifications.

The scenario would include

1) Being in a place where you're not carrying your phone on your person.
2) You set the phone down in a place where you can easily see it, but not get to it.
3) You had to leave it there unattended (out in the open) for a period of time and then you come back to the area (without being near the phone)

For example if its hidden in a drawer, an LED is no help because the phone is grab-able.

So these scenarios are so unlikely, that I would not use the term "many" people.

Many moons and stars have to align for a scenario to happen where an LED is genuinely useful.

And an LED enables a different way to do things. No more having to touch and interact with your phone to see if there are any notifications. The HORROR!

Even for what it does, which is not impressive, it doesn't compare to Siri. Like I said, people know how to ask questions by nature already. But they don't know what a glowing light means, or if they want it, or how to change it.


People manage the notification center just fine. Why can't an LED be managed the same way?

It can be but its just another thing to manage, and for a reason that is not fundamentally worth it.

Its like Apple always talks about knowing when to say no. Where do you draw the line before the the thing becomes a convoluted mess of "tools" and useless Android type excess that is confusing.

And off centered/asymmetrical cameras, cheap plastic bands, phones that can't lie flat, etc aren't?

Dont take it personally. Its just not the philosophy of the device and the design principles of simplicity. Nothing should take your attention away from the screen. Its a button and screen. Theres power in that. You don't get why or how, but there is to people out there. And because you don't realize it, you are not realizing how an LED diminishes that dynamic while not doing much at all to benefit for the tradeoff of "adding things to something that seeks to be as simple as possible."

You can't be serious with these editorials...

Im just stating basic common sense. Talking about the simple forgotten basics.

 

[DesertSilver]

Count me in for wanting a notification light. I even tried using the LED flash for alerts feature for a bit, but that's not a proper solution for notifications in general.

May have already been said in this lengthy thread but Apple's "porting" over a lot of features from Android so give it a few years and we'll have a notification light and Apple will devote 10 minutes to it in a keynote saying it's the best thing in the world.

I came from the Android world several years ago and iOS is getting a lot of similar, not necessarily copied, functionality from Android that I was used to many years ago. Actionable notifications, "widgets", 3rd party keyboards, app extensions, ability to quickly change certain settings (Control Center), and probably others I can't think of off the top of my head.

Admittedly, Apple's implementations are typically "cleaner" that what I've experienced with Android but just because Apple doesn't do something doesn't mean it's wouldn't be a valid/useful feature.

 

[iBought]

Redundancy is not subjective. It either is or it isn't. The LED does things other notifications don't, so, by definition, it's not redundant. That said, its added benefits may be of no use to you.



You're right, the LED is only a minor convenience. I hope nobody actually thinks not having it is a deal-breaker. That said, those "extra half seconds" add up to those that have grown used to having the LED. Try to understand that.



Then turn it off.



Then turn it off.



All high end Android smartphones have LEDs, and they all have way smaller bezels than the iPhone. In other words, LEDs don't seem to have any negative effect on screen real estate. I'm not saying your forecast is impossible, but it doesn't seem reasonable at all.

I don't want to turn off something that is pointless.

Once again I HAD LED for years. It is more of an annoyance than a service. Just because a light blinks doesn't mean that you know what it is blinking for.

Furthermore, to customize the LED on a droid, you had to root the phone to really have different colors..etc so you knew what your phone was blinking about.

In essence you are too lazy to check your phone by pressing the home button.

Im not a slave to my phone. When I am expecting a call or text and am away from it to do something, I simply come back and check my phone. I don't see any need for LEDs, and once again, I had them for years.

 

[Surf Monkey]

Now that that's been cleared up...

See, this is where you're not getting it. While I'd prefer Apple not add one I really don't care much either way. See, it is actually possible to have a nuanced opinion. And again, that is exactly what it is: an opinion, which is what my point has been all along. Neither you nor anyone else here can reasonably argue that a notification LED is OBJECTIVELY necessary. It's necessity is a completely SUBJECTIVE thing. A matter of pure preference. Therefore calling someone an idiot or stupid or ignorant if they say they don't want one is offensive and rediculous.

 

[cdaq]

Simply unbelievable how dim some people are. What the reasonable people want is merely to be able to look at the phone and know if they've missed something without having to interact with the phone at all. I don't care how they do it either (but I better not need to buy a secondary device to do it).

I really don't care if YOU don't think it's necessary, I do. And so do many other people. Some of you claim that the request is for a redundant feature (I think some need to look up a word if they don't know what it means), if so then please tell me how to enable the feature to be able to know if I've missed a notification without physically interacting with the phone. Some people...

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I don't want to turn off something that I think is pointless.

Fixed it for you...

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Neither you nor anyone else here can reasonably argue that a notification LED is OBJECTIVELY necessary.

Well for hells sake, no wonder you keep babbling. No one is arguing that it is objectively necessary. The argument has always been that it's a feature that many find useful and that it SHOULD be included on the iphone. By your (lack of) reasoning any number of features shouldn't be on the phone. You know what, I find the music player to be completely redundant and unneeded. I use a streaming music app, I have no need for the built in player. Apple should remove it.

 

[Surf Monkey]

Simply unbelievable how dim some people are.

Right on cue.

Having a different opinion doesn't make a person "dim," cdaq. Your argument would probably get more traction if you didn't continually insult and belittle anyone who expressed a different opinion.

 

[cdaq]

Right on cue.

Having a different opinion doesn't make a person "dim," cdaq. Your argument would probably get more traction if you didn't continually insult and belittle anyone who expressed a different opinion.

Right, a person being dim makes them dim. Why don't you respond to the content?

 

[TomTomHatesCats]

See, this is where you're not getting it. While I'd prefer Apple not add one I really don't care much either way. See, it is actually possible to have a nuanced opinion. And again, that is exactly what it is: an opinion, which is what my point has been all along. Neither you nor anyone else here can reasonably argue that a notification LED is OBJECTIVELY necessary. It's necessity is a completely SUBJECTIVE thing. A matter of pure preference. Therefore calling someone an idiot or stupid or ignorant if they say they don't want one is offensive and rediculous.

I'm not sure why you quoted me, then went on to rant about things that you think other people said.

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Having a different opinion doesn't make a person "dim," cdaq. Your argument would probably get more traction if you didn't continually insult and belittle anyone who expressed a different opinion.

He's not belittling your for expressing a different opinion. He's belittling you for criticizing him for a stance he doesn't hold.

 

[cdaq]

What the reasonable people want is merely to be able to look at the phone and know if they've missed something without having to interact with the phone at all. I don't care how they do it either (but I better not need to buy a secondary device to do it).
I really don't care if YOU don't think it's necessary, I do. And so do many other people.

Even if one wouldn't find this immediately useful, why would an objective, reasonable person not want the feature given two stipulations
1. the feature can be turned off
2. The feature is invisible when turned off

I posit that only slow, uncritical, unreasonable, or irrational person could have a problem with this.

 

[Surf Monkey]

He's not belittling your for expressing a different opinion. He's belittling you for criticizing him for a stance he doesn't hold.

No he isn't. Look at the post directly above this one. And I quoted you because my comment was directly relivent to your quote.

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Right, a person being dim makes them dim. Why don't you respond to the content?

Because there's no point. Any substantive response to you is met with smears.

 

[TomTomHatesCats]

I don't want to turn off something that is pointless.

You mean pointless to you. But I can appreciate that. How about if it's off by default and those who want it bear the burden of turning it on?

Once again I HAD LED for years. It is more of an annoyance than a service. Just because a light blinks doesn't mean that you know what it is blinking for.

So you had LED for years, found it annoying, but never turned it off. Think about this.

In essence you are too lazy to check your phone by pressing the home button.

Yes, there've been many times where I've glanced at my phone for an LED cue instead of picking it up and pressing a button. I don't know if that means I'm "too lazy," but it certainly pleased me to do so. In any case, it's certainly less "lazy" than having something annoy you "for years" and never turning it off.

Im not a slave to my phone. When I am expecting a call or text and am away from it to do something, I simply come back and check my phone. I don't see any need for LEDs, and once again, I had them for years.

And you can keep doing so, with or without LED. Anything else?

 

[cdaq]

Because there's no point. Any substantive response to you is met with smears.

You're right there is no point because my logic is irrefutable.

For crowd: it isn't possible to do X, we would find X very useful

Against crowd: We don't find X useful therefore it's not useful. We would prefer it if X remains absent even if X is completely transparent when not used.

One argument is sound. The other is arrogant and untenable and anyone taking that position is suspect.

 

[TomTomHatesCats]

Neither you nor anyone else here can reasonably argue that a notification LED is OBJECTIVELY necessary.

I never said that. Nobody did. Everyone basically agrees with you on this moot point.

Therefore calling someone an idiot or stupid or ignorant if they say they don't want one is offensive and rediculous.

I personally am not a fan of the name-calling, but this is the internet. Best thing to do is get over it and stick to the points you want to make or debate against. But it's most important to understand what those points are in the first place. Every post from you makes it more clear that you don't, though it's not from our lack of trying.

 

[maflynn]

[MOD NOTE]
With 25 pages of discussions, we seem to be repeating ourselves to the point that the discussion has run its course.

Closing.