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

[AbSoluTc]

With how often people are on their phones today, especially when in the presence of friends and company, do you really need a flashing light to tell you something is going on? You're staring at your screen most of the time or checking for that "update" you heart desires.

Really.

 

[xero9]

Thank goodness you're here to provide that lone voice in the wilderness.

The guy speaks the truth though. Look at NFC, it's a perfect example. Everyone says NFC is useless, we don't need it. Now that they're launching Apple Pay suddenly NFC is the best thing since sliced bread.

 

[Cole Slaw]

A notification LED is a ridiculous gimmick that no phone should have...

Unless Apple were to decide to put one on the iPhone 7, of course.

 

[Surf Monkey]

The guy speaks the truth though. Look at NFC, it's a perfect example. Everyone says NFC is useless, we don't need it. Now that they're launching Apple Pay suddenly NFC is the best thing since sliced bread.

Everyone said that? Really?

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A notification LED is a ridiculous gimmick that no phone should have...

Unless Apple were to decide to put one on the iPhone 7, of course.

This is what we call a straw man.

 

[thieverycorp.]

i agree and am surprised more people have not attacked you on this. I posted a question like this months back and got reamed out. i don't think it would ruin the design what so ever. i have a samsung galaxy s3 and the notification helps a lot, plus designating certain colors for email, text, missed calls, etc.

i hope someday apple wakes up and realizes just about every other phone on the market has one, thats about one of the few features apple hasn't decided to add to "catch up".

with that said, i have a 6+ 64gb on order and am happy to jump back into the apple ecosystem. the LED notification would have been the icing on the cake. oh well.

Do you really need it? Of course, you can always jailbreak it and install a package for LED notifications. LOL

 

[Haysbert]

I wouldn't mind a LED notifier, reminds me of the streetpass light on the 3DS.

 

[0387274]

I have to agree - there is no point in staring at a LED light when you can just take a look at the screen. I own a Galaxy S3 and have disabled the whole feature a long time ago.

 

[madsci954]

Why? Even if I see what it is, I'm going to check what it is, power the screen and see what it is. And my phone is almost always on me, when I'm in the shower, is the only time it isn't. I just don't see the need for it anymore.

 

[QuarterSwede]

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.

You also can't prove that that was the plan all along. Until someone who was there for decision making come along to say otherwise you're assuming there was a plan.

 

[ZBoater]

The iPhone doesn't have LED notification, so it's useless. Watch all the posts. When Apple decides to put one in the iPhone, it will suddenly become a magical gift from heaven.

 

[Surf Monkey]

You also can't prove that that was the plan all along. Until someone who was there for decision making come along to say otherwise you're assuming there was a plan.

Sure, because Apple was going to release a new computing platform with its own OS and not open it up to app developers.

Go back and read what people were writing at the time. Plenty of people knew full well that Apple was doing what Apple always does: holding off until they were ready.

Ultimately it's a matter of which is more plausible: that Apple genuinely envisioned a future of Web only apps or that Apple had an App Store in mind from the outset. The latter is and was always the more likely of the two.

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The iPhone doesn't have LED notification, so it's useless. Watch all the posts. When Apple decides to put one in the iPhone, it will suddenly become a magical gift from heaven.

Double straw men! Good show, Z!

 

[derekgroves]

Perfectly reasonable request to have a notification LED.

Glance across desk, phone LED is flashing (AFTER the screen has timed out mind you) so I know I have a missed notification to address without ever having to interrupt my workflow and pick up the phone.

If I'm sitting there and happen to catch the screen turn on when the event happens, great I notice it at the point. If my phone isn't surgically attached to my arm and I step into the next cubicle and return to my desk, a blinking LED tells me I missed something, without pressing the home button and possibly getting distracted unnecessarily by winding up unlocking and farting around in apps.

So no, just because Apple doesn't include it doesn't mean you have to be ok with not having it and convince yourself you don't need/want it. It's okay to ask for/wish the iPhone had things that Apple doesn't include.

You also don't have to jump to their defense and justify for them why it isn't included.

I'm with you OP- an LED would be great.

 

[webbuzz]

I miss the 90s too.

Seriously though, it doesn't bother me not having it.

 

[Eggtastic]

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

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

see OP? a bunch of people came here to ream you out about it and a couple of supporters got chewed out also.

camera flash LED notifications are pointless because most of the time your phone will be facing up.

LED notifications would not hurt the "apple" design. not anymore than keeping the top and bottom of the phone obnoxiously thick (yes, i know there is probably some engineering purpose, but it still looks the same as it did the PAST 4 YEARS!).

90's, early 2000's, blackberry, etc are examples people throw out to make a point, but again, almost all phones that are not apple have some sort of notification light so that you do not have to turn on your screen to check. whether its a gimmick or not, its useful.

in the end, it doesn't matter as the iphone is packed with plenty of other features and "gimmicks", but LED notifications are useful.

 

[Surf Monkey]

(yes, i know there is probably some engineering purpose, but it still looks the same as it did the PAST 4 YEARS!).

The answer is in your post. The device looks like an iPhone because Apple has invested years worth of design and marketing making it into an icon. The idea that they'd casually abandon that is unreasonable. At some point some new iPhone design is likely to emerge, but it isn't going to suddenly appear and wipe out Apple's investment in this one, not when so much of their marketing relies on those bezels. Look at the iconography and you'll see why the iPhone still looks like an iPhone.

 

[davistld01]

Blinking notification LED's are so AppleBerry.

 

[iososx]

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

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

It's important to remember Apple actually believes they know best therefore what customers want is of no consequence.

We know nothing, they know everything.

 

[SCMedic]

Apple never added an LED indicator in preperation for the Apple Watch.

You want notifications, you buy the watch.

GENIUS!

 

[Kiju]

No thanks.

 

[Jimmy James]

Who needs a notification light?

Who needs push email? You just press a button and have a whole screen to provide you with this information.

The point would be not having to look at all until a prompt is given.

 

[ZBoater]

Who needs a notification light?

Who needs push email? You just press a button and have a whole screen to provide you with this information.

The point would be not having to look at all until a prompt is given.

Ummmm, I do.

 

[ucfgrad93]

What for? I have never once in my life ever thought "man, I wish this thing had a notification LED" nor have I ever heard any of the many people I know say that. Since this is a feature that obviously very few people want or need, you will never see it.

Agreed. I don't really use it on my HTC One (M7).

 

[adammull]

What iPhones need is telescoping antennas! Phone reception has sucked since companies stopped putting those on phones. Come ON, Apple! When are you going to bring back the telescoping antenna??

I would actually love this feature. Seriously. Phone reception was way better back in the day. Modern phones are horrible inside buildings. Would be nice to have an antenna.

Will this ever happen? Uh.......no.

 

[APlotdevice]

I would actually love this feature. Seriously. Phone reception was way better back in the day. Modern phones are horrible inside buildings. Would be nice to have an antenna.

Will this ever happen? Uh.......no.

It would be nice if phones still had the external antenna port found on early internal-antenna phones. Unfortunately carriers would rather you paid for a repeater.

 

[Mitchdisaster]

So what I'm getting from this is that you want a little light to tell you you wake up the phone anyway to check what the notification is?

So with the thousands of different apps which could be sending you a notification you're going to rely on a little blinking light to tell you which one is trying to tell you something? Are you going to have to memorize thousands of different patterns of morse code to decode your notification? Just seems easier to me to go ahead and wake the phone for 5 seconds to check the notifications. If there don't happen to be any then, oh well, just put the screen back to sleep.

Seems rather pointless.