Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
My point still stands. The iPhone battery life is more than enough to provide the convenience of an AOD for those who want this feature.

You guys are acting like AOD is gonna be the death of the iPhone or something. There are plenty other phones in the industry with AOD and really great battery life. And if those phones can have such well-optimized AODs, I'm dead sure that the iPhone can do the same. This tech has been around for ages. It isn't rocket science.
I'd rather, and many others as well, have AOD off. Besides, I see little value in AOD.
 
I'd rather, and many others as well, have AOD off. Besides, I see little value in AOD.

That's fine. Any additional feature should most certainly be an add-on. But there are a few replies in this thread implying that this feature should never see the light of day. That in my opinion is extremely myopic and kind of ridiculous.

I will definitely have it on. The work I do requires me to be connected to my relevant notifications and the faster I act on them, the better it is. Everyone has their own lifestyle & needs, so for the many you say don't want AOD, I can assure you there are many, many others who most certainly do.
 
That's fine. Any additional feature should most certainly be an add-on. But there are a few replies in this thread implying that this feature should never see the light of day. That in my opinion is extremely myopic and kind of ridiculous.

I will definitely have it on. The work I do requires me to be connected to my relevant notifications and the faster I act on them, the better it is. Everyone has their own lifestyle & needs, so for the many you say don't want AOD, I can assure you there are many, many others who most certainly do.
Have you seen how much people complain on the slightest defect? AOD is a recipe for screen burn-in. I can already see that mega-thread about that specific issue.
 
Have you seen how much people complain on the slightest defect? AOD is a recipe for screen burn-in. I can already see that mega-thread about that specific issue.

While Apple doesn't have a perfect track record, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt until I see it in action. They have taken a lot longer to implement this that it should have taken and I hope that bodes well for it, technically speaking.

Either way, it's a personal choice and the important thing is Apple respecting their consumers by providing them with features worthy of a device of that price. I know you don't want it, but a lot of people do regardless of the potential compromises. The opportunity cost to people is worth that risk, so who am I to question that?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Saladin12
It absolutely reduces battery life.

AW Series 6. I charge it in the morning only, and leave it off the charger the rest of the day and night.

AOD turned off ~50% left

AOD turned on ~10% left

Display is the largest power consuming component. Always on will definitely use more battery power.

I’m also convinced the AOD feature has destroyed the battery on my series 5 AW. I’ve had to disable it in recent weeks as the Watch battery is dying completely and well before the end of my day. Now disabled, I go to bed with 40% left. I dread to think what it will do to an iPhone.
 
That's like asking why someone might want their computer monitor to be always on.

I leave my iPhone on my desk at work. I also enjoy reading any notifications that I may have missed.

That’s the thing, we only need our computer monitors to be on when we use them. What’s the point otherwise?

And to “enjoy reading any missed notifications” we would still need to interact with our phones, at which point the screen will go on, just as it is now.
 
Have you seen how much people complain on the slightest defect? AOD is a recipe for screen burn-in. I can already see that mega-thread about that specific issue.
If Apple somehow implements it in a way that causes burn-in, they’re pretty backwards! This is very mature tech, folks… it works fine on Android phones that have it.
 
Here's hoping the older models don't get it forced on them. God if my SE2 ends up with an always on display I'd have to leave it plugged in so much it would basically become a landline.
 
  • Like
Reactions: arkitect
Have you seen how much people complain on the slightest defect? AOD is a recipe for screen burn-in. I can already see that mega-thread about that specific issue.

They will probably implement a way where the “stuff” AOD keeps moving about every few minutes to various locations across the screen.

If that’s the case, I’ll hate it because you eyes will not get adjusted to where to look at in a split second. That’s what defines taking a glance at something.
 
If Apple somehow implements it in a way that causes burn-in, they’re pretty backwards! This is very mature tech, folks… it works fine on Android phones that have it.
This... I've been using the Galaxy Note 20Ultra for the last 1,5yrs with AOD always on during the day and cannot see any harm caused to the display by this. Besides, I've never heard of widespread burn-ins on iPhones, so this argument is pretty exaggerated.

Also, regarding the battery it's around 1%/hour with the AOD on, so I don't see this as a big blow to the usability, but maybe apple will find a way to make it more efficient
 
If Apple somehow implements it in a way that causes burn-in, they’re pretty backwards! This is very mature tech, folks… it works fine on Android phones that have it.
Agree. One of the standard measures to defeat burn in is pixel shifting. Items on the screen shift slightly over time to prevent this exact thing. While I use AOD on my Pixel, my wife has had AOD on her Pixel on since the day she got the phone (May 2019). She's had no burn in.

And the Pixel 3a XL was a midrange Android device.
 
Last edited:
They will probably implement a way where the “stuff” AOD keeps moving about every few minutes to various locations across the screen.

If that’s the case, I’ll hate it because you eyes will not get adjusted to where to look at in a split second. That’s what defines taking a glance at something.
It's called pixel shifting, and as I pointed out above is one method to avoid burn in. But pixel shifting happens over time. It's not like your screen is dancing around and the shift is usually one pixel over, down or up.

You would have to be staring at your screen intensely for over an hour to catch when a shift occurs - or just happen to be looking at the screen at the exact moment it shifts. Even then, it's a slight movement.

Since most AOD devices are against a black background your lockscreen wallpaper isn't going to burn in either.
 
  • Like
Reactions: NoGood@Usernames
Okayyyy. What about the 90% of the time it's locked? If there's no incoming notification then I get nothing from a blank screen.
The screen turns on when you get a notification lmao

Plus there's still the other devices in the Apple ecosystem that would send that notification too, which if you're an iPhone owner it's highly likely you already got at least one of them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MacLappy
LOL, yes. Apple sells you two devices to get features it could have on one device. That's been the strategy for some time now. And people are happy to buy in to it.

Its hilarious that what you just posted here even needs to be stated 😂

Ditto for the iPad being gimped as a computer so you need to buy a Mac. This has been Apple's MO for quite some time.
 
Okayyyy. What about the 90% of the time it's locked? If there's no incoming notification then I get nothing from a blank screen.
You can set it to an “always on” screen by just not locking the phone, and setting the “auto-lock” to never. This is never ever recommended, and is actually silly - but it’s possible.
 
I’m also convinced the AOD feature has destroyed the battery on my series 5 AW. I’ve had to disable it in recent weeks as the Watch battery is dying completely and well before the end of my day. Now disabled, I go to bed with 40% left. I dread to think what it will do to an iPhone.
I agree with you. When I got my S6, I tried it for a couple of days, then turned it off for that very reason. Long term preservation of battery and display.
 
Are you seriously comparing the AW battery life to the iPhone's? That is comically lopsided.

Most regular folk are able to make their iPhone 13 Pros last almost 2 days. I'm sure that if those who have been wanting AOD for years finally get it, they wouldn't mind knocking off 1-2 hours of an already phenomenal battery life in exchange for the convenience.
I absolutely am and it makes perfect sense.

There’s only 1 device currently that has AOD and it’s *drum roll please* Apple Watch. It’s the only thing to compare it to and make inferences from. And that feature significantly impacts battery life.

And it will do the same on iPhone.
 
Its hilarious that what you just posted here even needs to be stated 😂

Ditto for the iPad being gimped as a computer so you need to buy a Mac. This has been Apple's MO for quite some time.
I've been involved in a few 'notification LED' threads on MR over the years. Especially when the Apple watch launched. Whatever other great properties the watch has, one of the intents behind it was to be just that - a notification LED. Apple isn't dumb. :)
 
I absolutely am and it makes perfect sense.

There’s only 1 device currently that has AOD and it’s *drum roll please* Apple Watch. It’s the only thing to compare it to and make inferences from. And that feature significantly impacts battery life.

And it will do the same on iPhone.

Then turn it off and let others who want it use it. Jeez.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Saladin12
The screen turns on when you get a notification lmao

Plus there's still the other devices in the Apple ecosystem that would send that notification too, which if you're an iPhone owner it's highly likely you already got at least one of them.

Thanks for the explanation about how notifications work. :rolleyes: That still doesn't change the fact that 90% of the time my iPhone screen is locked and not displaying anything. If I could glance over and see pertinent info thanks to an AOD display I consider that a nice feature.
 
They will probably implement a way where the “stuff” AOD keeps moving about every few minutes to various locations across the screen.

If that’s the case, I’ll hate it because you eyes will not get adjusted to where to look at in a split second. That’s what defines taking a glance at something.
Probably? Yeah, they already have that at 1Hz in the AW. Still some cases of burn-in have been seen.
 
I absolutely am and it makes perfect sense.

There’s only 1 device currently that has AOD and it’s *drum roll please* Apple Watch. It’s the only thing to compare it to and make inferences from. And that feature significantly impacts battery life.

And it will do the same on iPhone.

Congrats on beating on your drum without actually considering what I was trying to say.

I'll say it again. A feature that significantly impacts battery life on the AW will not necessarily significantly impact the battery life on the iPhone. AOD on phones is mature tech that has been around for ages on an absolute sea of Android devices with healthy battery capacities that aren't even nearly as well optimized as iPhones.

You cannot make a 1-to-1 comparison between its implementation on devices with vastly different battery capacities, even if the screen on the iPhone is larger. What is a battery drainer on a watch has forever been a low-impact feature on almost every Android phone that has introduced an AOD. This is an inane comparison.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.