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

[Lloydbm41]

You clearly don't own an iphone.

On the iphone notifications pop up on the screen. The entire screen. No need for an LED indicator light. It's not needed. It's an old philosophy for people who hate their phones and never want to look at it.

Iphone is different. People want to look at their phones. Just by looking at your phone you get all the notifications on the screen.

Did you mean to reply to me or do you not know what the Active Display is on the Moto X?

Link: http://www.motorola.com/us/Moto-X-Features-Active-Display/motox-features-3-active-display.html

I also said the iPhone would never get an LED notification light. So I'm confused by your response?

 

[QuarterSwede]

Because anybody argued against an App Store?

In fact, most of that list is bogus when making this case that people would flip flop were Apple to suddenly decide to add an LED notification system, because with the exception of large screens no one argued against any of those things. The fact that Apple said they wouldn't do them? So what? You believe everything Apple tells you? Most of us learned not to way back in the NuBus days.

I was merely pointing out that the App Store was the largest flip flop Apple had. Jobs didn't think it was a good idea until developers fought web apps (which did suck).

 

[torana355]

An LED notification light will be frowned upon until Apple put one on the iphone then everyone will say how great it is.... I cant live without a notification light, once you have used a phone with one there is no going back.

 

[Lloydbm41]

An LED notification light will be frowned upon until Apple put one on the iphone then everyone will say how great it is.... I cant live without a notification light, once you have used a phone with one there is no going back.

I have a Nexus 5, a Moto X and a Lumia 925 that I use daily. I also have a Martian Notifier smartwatch.
I used to think the LED Light was great until I got the Moto X with active display notifications, which I think is better than an led light. The Lumia has "Glance" which is similar.
Now that I have a smartwatch, I don't even bother to look at my phones.
Point is: Phone notification indicators of any sort are becoming less and less important.

 

[sr1329]

An LED notification light will be frowned upon until Apple put one on the iphone then everyone will say how great it is.... I cant live without a notification light, once you have used a phone with one there is no going back.

Well said. Everything gets frowned upon until Apple does it. There's nothing wrong with a nice gentle glowing ring around the button. It can be implemented tastefully.

 

[Crichton333]

I hate the LED notification with all my soul, wanted to bust my android with a stone because I couldnt stop it flashing with every Facebook and Twitter notification.

 

[53kyle]

So why do we have the pulsating white LEDs on the MacBooks if they're "so 1999"?

Uh, the last mac that had pulsating white LEDs was from 2012, and they NEED to be there so we know whether they are actually asleep when we put them in bags, so we don't crash the hard drive (old technology, I know).

 

[MJD Dawg]

OP I'm actually with you on this one

So many people miss the point. Notification led isn't for when you get a notification while looking at the phone... It's more useful for when you've actually missed something and return to your phone. Yes you can wake the device and check but you wouldn't even have to if, for instance, the ring around the touch ID home button glowed when you missed something -- indicating there is something that requires your attention.

I'm not one of those people who constantly wake their device for no good reason and scroll around the home screen doing absolutely nothing. I see plenty of people like that out in public and it's, IMO, a bad habit. It would be nice to be able to look across the room at my phone sitting on the table and see the home button lit up, indicating I should walk over and check the phone l. There's been times when I left my phone alone for a while and missed a few texts before coming back in to grab it on my way out the house.

If you've ever seen the notification orb on the old Palm Pre you'd understand. That was a perfect l, subtle indication. I'm not fond of any of the dedicated notification LEDs on android phones.

Agreed.

I've had to use a Blackberry for many years at various places I've worked and I do sort of miss that blinking LED.

The point being missed is that some people on these forums actually have to work during the day and don't necessarily have time to be constantly looking down at a phone display to check for messages or emails all the time.

I just find it handy to be able to see the blinking LED and know to check the phone as I'm in an office environment where I've been given heck in the past by coworkers who've complained about the noise my phone would make every time I received an email or calendar alert.

 

[ChristianVirtual]

Yet when apple does it, will you be praising them?

Praising ? No.
Using ? Maybe ... But not essential.

I don't see much need of a legacy (front-facing) LED compared the regular screen these days.
If they put it at the back I wouldn't see it as the iPhone is mostly in some cover. So really no need for me for a LED.

The haptic feedback on the watch is a more discrete way compared to a LED light (and hopefully not that noisy in meetings as the regular vibrator in the phone when placed on the table).

If they would add a LED I just hope they give it same flexibility as for the mute switch. Which I hated when they shortly removed the rotation lock from it; my preferred option.

As for the iPhone size: they can go as big as its still fit into a regular business shirt chest pocket. iP6+ just fits, as per paper printouts my colleagues gave me.

 

[Gxray]

Agreed OP, this is one of the very few things I'll miss when switching from my HTC One. Sometimes I have my phone on vibrate and if I go take out the trash or something and come back I wouldn't notice I had received a message without that little red light blinking.

 

[brun019822]

Because anybody argued against an App Store?

In fact, most of that list is bogus when making this case that people would flip flop were Apple to suddenly decide to add an LED notification system, because with the exception of large screens no one argued against any of those things. The fact that Apple said they wouldn't do them? So what? You believe everything Apple tells you? Most of us learned not to way back in the NuBus days.

Hahaha you are very funny, I remember people in this site saying I don't need mms I can just send pics over email hahaha I just don't get why you are so against it. I learned to really like the led notification on the S5, usually I'll have my phone charging on my desk every time I left the room and when coming back I would just take a glance on the phone to see if someone had called, now with the iphone instead of sitting on the couch I would have to walk over to my desk and press on the home button to see if I missed anything.

 

[APlotdevice]

The lack of a notification LED used to bug me. However my Pebble now provides me with immediate notifications even when I step out of the room.

And it could be worse… they could've retained the stupid "connection" LED that most older phones had, which just blinked constantly whenever you were connected to a cellular network.

 

[mellofello]

I have no idea what the led on my note 3 is telling me

 

[supertomtom]

Would be great to have a pulsating LED like the previous MacBooks on the phone. But I guess Apple is probably assuming that the apple watch will serve a similar function.

 

[varun14]

You can get notifications later on in 2015. It comes in the form of a very expensive watch.

 

[APlotdevice]

You can get notifications later on in 2015. It comes in the form of a very expensive watch.

You can get them right now on a watch that isn't as expensive and has better battery life.

 

[Ayr]

you can get notifications later on in 2015. It comes in the form of a very expensive watch.

Word

 

[sk1wbw]

There's already a notification LED. It's called the camera flash and you make that notify you on alerts.

 

[Ayr]

One of those things - I never miss it 'cos I never had it..

 

[ruler22]

The camera flash absolutely sucks as a notification indicator, it's a pathetic work-around for one imo. Also, it only shows you a notification once it arrives - I'm not sure if it'll indicate a notification minutes after it's arrived?

 

[sk1wbw]

The camera flash absolutely sucks as a notification indicator, it's a pathetic work-around for one imo. Also, it only shows you a notification once it arrives - I'm not sure if it'll indicate a notification minutes after it's arrived?

It won't, but I really don't see the purpose of having it blink constantly. Like someone said above, I have no idea what the LED light is telling on my Nexus 7. And since every single app defaults to having it blink, how do you know what it is there unless you actually turn your device on in the first place?

 

[TroyBoy30]

i love the led notification light on my nexus 5. add in light flow to control the colors for each different type of notification and it's perfect. why anyone would rather have to wake the entire device to check for missed anything is beyond me

 

[csjasona]

I mean it's not that difficult to do, what gives?

And no... the camera LED does not count.

Because they're utterly useless? Because remembering what the colours stand for is beyond most us?

I've had three 'Droid phones, all with this "feature" and it was a pain in the arse to set it up and an even larger pain to remember what blue, or red, or green actually meant. Far easier to look at the text-based notification window!

And having a blinking LED flash in your face all the time - especially when you get reams of emails and messages - c.f. Blackberry -- is just encouraging FOMO.

 

[Surf Monkey]

Hahaha you are very funny, I remember people in this site saying I don't need mms I can just send pics over email hahaha I just don't get why you are so against it. I learned to really like the led notification on the S5, usually I'll have my phone charging on my desk every time I left the room and when coming back I would just take a glance on the phone to see if someone had called, now with the iphone instead of sitting on the couch I would have to walk over to my desk and press on the home button to see if I missed anything.

I'm not against it. It just isn't going to happen. Ha ha ha.

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I was merely pointing out that the App Store was the largest flip flop Apple had. Jobs didn't think it was a good idea until developers fought web apps (which did suck).

Jobs didn't think it was a good idea... until Apple has the APIs all figured out. If you honestly think the long game was to never open the phone to apps you're naive.

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You can get them right now on a watch that isn't as expensive and has better battery life.

There's your flip flop right there. Everyone dissing the Apple Watch. Everyone who is going scramble in a mad rush to buy one the minute it's released.

 

[Apple blogger]

I mean it's not that difficult to do, what gives?

And no... the camera LED does not count.

Well I've had a serious argument on this on the other devices section and came to a conclusion that led notification is sonething that'll help u only in 1 situation, where ur phone is lying somewhere and ur not near it and cannot hear it ring, and when u come in the room , without opening the phone u know whether uve got a notification or not... Besides that no other thing...

And apple hasn't implemented it cause of this only .. It has only 1 small use... It doesn't take a lot if time to just open and press the sleep button, just 3 seconds...