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It comes up every year because people want it. Simple consumer demand that Apple fails to deliver every year! And is reflected in declining sales from competitors.
It comes up every year. And stays where it is until and unless Apple decides to change it. As much as I would love for iPhones to have it, it basically has nothing to do with declining sales, at least nothing noticeable/meaningful.
 
Do you want a iPhone 7 Notification Light?

It baffles me that Apple continues to leave out a notification light on the iPhone!

No, not a camera flash notification which is already possible, but a dedicated notification light on the dark screen that lights up when the phone is in sleep mode.

Supposedly people check their phones a ridiculous 150 times per day! Who wants to be a slave to their phone? How many times have you had to constantly monitor your phone by clicking the home button when expecting an important call, text, or email? I thought these gadgets are called smart phones to make our lives more productive and simpler? Not slave phones!

My prehistoric clam shell phone from over 10 years ago even had a notification light when I missed a call or had a voice mail.

The idea is simple

Red Light: Missed Call or Voice Mail

Green Light: New Text

Blue Light: New Email

And you could configure in settings for a blinking light, steady light, or off. And for Facebook and Facebook Messenger too. Also at night you could turn off the ringer and vibrate so you or your partner can sleep, but still be notified of a important call, text, or email when the phone is by the bed.

We pay nearly a thousand dollars every few years for a state of the art smart phone and large monthly phone and data fees, yet Apple a multi billion dollar company can not add a simple notification light?

No. why do people keep whining about this. If you want old tech, get a blackberry.
 
They want you to get the notification led addon called Apple Watch. Even if they added a led on the front of the phone people would still pick it up and turn the screen on.

If it would happen around the home button it would only be for one generation so highly unlikely. Knowing apple it would only be white led.
 
As I mentioned, there would be a on/off button when not needed. At least we should have the option of a notification light for the amount we pay for these things!
Apple won't even include a visible power button on iMacs (presumably for aesthetics), so what makes you thinks they'd soil their precious flagship with such a Droidish mark?
 
No. why do people keep whining about this. If you want old tech, get a blackberry.
It has nothing to do with old technology or BlackBerries or anything else, just simply one of various things that Apple decided not to include.
 
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Do you want a iPhone 7 Notification Light?

It baffles me that Apple continues to leave out a notification light on the iPhone!

No, not a camera flash notification which is already possible, but a dedicated notification light on the dark screen that lights up when the phone is in sleep mode.

Supposedly people check their phones a ridiculous 150 times per day! Who wants to be a slave to their phone? How many times have you had to constantly monitor your phone by clicking the home button when expecting an important call, text, or email? I thought these gadgets are called smart phones to make our lives more productive and simpler? Not slave phones!

My prehistoric clam shell phone from over 10 years ago even had a notification light when I missed a call or had a voice mail.

The idea is simple

Red Light: Missed Call or Voice Mail

Green Light: New Text

Blue Light: New Email

And you could configure in settings for a blinking light, steady light, or off. And for Facebook and Facebook Messenger too. Also at night you could turn off the ringer and vibrate so you or your partner can sleep, but still be notified of a important call, text, or email when the phone is by the bed.

We pay nearly a thousand dollars every few years for a state of the art smart phone and large monthly phone and data fees, yet Apple a multi billion dollar company can not add a simple notification light?

Given the reputation that Apple has for making products that look sleek, why do you think they'd compromise that by adding an ugly flashing green light?
 
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Given the reputation that Apple has for making products that look sleek, why do you think they'd compromise that by adding an ugly flashing green light?
That's always the assumption isn't it? That adding a notification light would automatically be ugly. Just because it's a concept a lot of Apple customers don't agree with.

What if Apple introduced it and because it was Apple doing it, it was elegant, sleek and naturally fit in with the design of the device? What if Apple further provide a way that it could be used or not used depending on user preference?

Would those objecting to a notification light still object?
 
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I don't think a notification light would be useful now. Don't get me wrong, but how many notifications do you get in a day between several instant messaging services, mail and almost every app? A simple light just not provides enough information, since you can't differentiate important notifications from plain spam.

In fact, the trend I have seen in many of my friends (android) phones is an always blinking notification light to which they pay no attention to.
 
I don't think a notification light would be useful now. Don't get me wrong, but how many notifications do you get in a day between several instant messaging services, mail and almost every app? A simple light just not provides enough information, since you can't differentiate important notifications from plain spam.

In fact, the trend I have seen in many of my friends (android) phones is an always blinking notification light to which they pay no attention to.
I will provide the same argument I have in the other threads of this kind.

I put my iPhone on my desk at work. I am often required to get up from my desk and go to different parts of the building. I do get a lot of notifications I ignore, but sometimes I am expecting a particular notification and it's irritating to have to constantly turn my screen on and check my device for that one notification I am expecting every time I come back to my desk while being away.

If I'm downstairs and I get that expected notification I don't hear it. I have to turn my screen on to check when I get back to my desk.

A notification light would tell me about any NEW notifications during the time I am away from my desk. Which then gives me the option of checking my screen or not, depending on what response is required from that notification I may be expecting.
 
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Doesn't the notification option on the lock screen replace this feature? I just keep my phone face up and, when thinks come in, I see them. No need to turn over and press a button.

A light wouldn't do me any good at all. At any given moment I could have three emails, a few texts and God know what else
 
Doesn't the notification option on the lock screen replace this feature? I just keep my phone face up and, when thinks come in, I see them. No need to turn over and press a button.

A light wouldn't do me any good at all. At any given moment I could have three emails, a few texts and God know what else
My phone sits in a business card holder on my desk directly facing me. I see the screen light up when a notification comes in, I hear the notification tone. That's fine. My iPhone is NEVER placed face down. I'm paranoid about surfaces scratching the screen when I do that.

My problem is when I am in a different part of the building and a notifcation I am expecting comes in. I don't hear it, I don't see it, I have to check my phone when I come back to my desk. Irritating.
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It should also make me dinner, right?
You're thinking Android. ;)
 
I have no need or desire for a notification light. If I have the self awareness to look over at my phone to try and see if a light is blinking or not, I can tap the home button. I love my phone, but that level of attachment is exceeding.

I don't really care one way or another about a notification light, but if anything, I would think it fosters less attachment. As you say, now you have to reach over and wake your phone every time you want to see if you've missed something. With a light, all you'd have to do is glance at it.
 
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On Android one typically has a notification LED that can be used if you want it, and it's action can be customized or off completely. Isn't this more flexible than not having one at all? I can barely count all the people I know who annoy everyone with their camera flash. It has taken Apple 10 years to bring decent notification capabilities, so I would guess a customizable notification LED might be too difficult at this time.
 
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Given the reputation that Apple has for making products that look sleek, why do you think they'd compromise that by adding an ugly flashing green light?
Because there isn't a way to do it without it being noticeable in any way aside from when it's actually in use (for those that enable and use it)? All kinds of phones have been doing it like that for years. It's a non-issue.
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Doesn't the notification option on the lock screen replace this feature? I just keep my phone face up and, when thinks come in, I see them. No need to turn over and press a button.

A light wouldn't do me any good at all. At any given moment I could have three emails, a few texts and God know what else
Not quite the main usecase of it. It's more related to when you missed a notification and don't realize it or perhaps didn't act on one when you got it but meant to do it and just forgot about it.
 
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My old BlackBerry Curve had one and I found it incredibly useful--I could see at a glance from across the room whether something had happened on the phone that I needed to deal with, without waking it or picking it up. I would prefer one on the iPhone. (In fact, to preserve their precious "beautiful/minimalist" design, why can't the software just address a modest square of the display to provide an indication? It needn't be an actual LED on the side of the phone.)
 
My old BlackBerry Curve had one and I found it incredibly useful--I could see at a glance from across the room whether something had happened on the phone that I needed to deal with, without waking it or picking it up. I would prefer one on the iPhone. (In fact, to preserve their precious "beautiful/minimalist" design, why can't the software just address a modest square of the display to provide an indication? It needn't be an actual LED on the side of the phone.)
My old 2009 HTC Touch Pro did this. It had a home button very similar to the iPhone home button (round). There was an LED ring around the button that flashed in a counter clockwise circular pattern (white) whenever there was a new message and then stayed lit until you unlocked the phone. After that it went back to being dark.

It was something I assumed Apple was doing when they came out with Touch ID because there's a ring around the home button. Sadly, no…it was just Touch ID.

It can be done, Apple just has chosen not to do it for their own reasons.
 
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I will provide the same argument I have in the other threads of this kind.

I put my iPhone on my desk at work. I am often required to get up from my desk and go to different parts of the building. I do get a lot of notifications I ignore, but sometimes I am expecting a particular notification and it's irritating to have to constantly turn my screen on and check my device for that one notification I am expecting every time I come back to my desk while being away.

If I'm downstairs and I get that expected notification I don't hear it. I have to turn my screen on to check when I get back to my desk.

A notification light would tell me about any NEW notifications during the time I am away from my desk. Which then gives me the option of checking my screen or not, depending on what response is required from that notification I may be expecting.

My point being, you would see a notification light and it could very well be candy-crush daily rewards (or whatever annoying notifications that game sends) or a friend sending you a funny meme.

IF there were a way to sort notifications by importance, like VIP mail, that feature could be useful. But since not always all notifications from the same person nor app are always equally impossible, I think that is near impossible to achieve.

Meanwhile I would suggest you an Apple Watch, that kind of annoyance you have (being physically away from your iPhone but in the same room/building) is actually what the Watch solves better (probably the only thing that it solves), as you can see notifications right on your wrist.
 
My point being, you would see a notification light and it could very well be candy-crush daily rewards (or whatever annoying notifications that game sends) or a friend sending you a funny meme.

IF there were a way to sort notifications by importance, like VIP mail, that feature could be useful. But since not always all notifications from the same person nor app are always equally impossible, I think that is near impossible to achieve.

Meanwhile I would suggest you an Apple Watch, that kind of annoyance you have (being physically away from your iPhone but in the same room/building) is actually what the Watch solves better (probably the only thing that it solves), as you can see notifications right on your wrist.
There are ways to control these things fairly easily. In most cases they could be set up for important things like missed calls or messages or something like that, and not random app notifications. Different notifications would also use a different color and/or perhaps a different pattern. Things that have been in use for LED notifications on various other phones for some time now.

Even among various notifications even now iOS provides VIP capabilities for email notifications, so the foundation for these types of controls are already there and are even in use. Certainly would need a bit more options added on Apple's part in relation to it all, which would be fairly normal to be there for a new feature. Certainly not really much reasoning against having an optional feature like that.
 
My point being, you would see a notification light and it could very well be candy-crush daily rewards (or whatever annoying notifications that game sends) or a friend sending you a funny meme.

IF there were a way to sort notifications by importance, like VIP mail, that feature could be useful. But since not always all notifications from the same person nor app are always equally impossible, I think that is near impossible to achieve.

Meanwhile I would suggest you an Apple Watch, that kind of annoyance you have (being physically away from your iPhone but in the same room/building) is actually what the Watch solves better (probably the only thing that it solves), as you can see notifications right on your wrist.
I get that, but for my own personal situation the kinds of notifcations I am getting are limited to either text or email with very few app notifications (those being unimportant). And it's rare that I am expecting a particular notification.

But when I am I'm willing to check my screen to determine if it's the notification I am waiting for or something else. That's fine. It's when I have to check for ANY notification because there is no indication at all that I have received anything that irritates me.

As far as the Apple watch, well here's the thing. That's not something everyone can afford. It certainly is in my case. But I'm also not going to plunk down that much money just to have nothing more than a message notifier on my wrist. Sure, the Apple Watch is more than that and can do other things, but that's all I'd be using it for.

Lastly, I much prefer my Seiko Sports 150 Kinetic if I am going to be wearing a watch (which I don't usually).

Not that this isn't a solution for others, it's just not for me.
 
Apple Watch isnt my thing either. Maybe something plain like the Sinn 556A. Something that will last 100 years or more, rather than 5 years. This would be my "cool" watch. I like how the mechanical movement works and how it's been refined over the centuries.
 
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I don't really care one way or another about a notification light, but if anything, I would think it fosters less attachment. As you say, now you have to reach over and wake your phone every time you want to see if you've missed something. With a light, all you'd have to do is glance at it.
I can see that. I guess what I meant but worded poorly is that now, I don't often check my phone unless I hear the notification sound. With the light, I could see my OCD self continually glancing to see if a light is blinking or not.
 
I can see that. I guess what I meant but worded poorly is that now, I don't often check my phone unless I hear the notification sound. With the light, I could see my OCD self continually glancing to see if a light is blinking or not.
So you can easily choose not to use such a feature.
 
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