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Lack of Always-On Screen

p3ntyne

p3ntyne

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 10, 2014
406
3
Sydney, Australia
What's your opinion of the lack of an always-on display. Since the screen is so efficient, and hardly any pixels would be lit, I don't see why that couldn't be an option.

And also, since that watch is only slightly smaller yet has an OLED display, what is it that limits the watches battery life to under a day?
 
It's just where techonlogy is at.

No device, this small, this light, and this capable, has achieved better battery life.

It is what it is, and with each version, as technology moves forward, things will get better.
 
My understanding is that when the watch goes to reserve power mode, it is on all the time (very basic digital time display). I'm hopeful that there are more settings added to the Watch so that we can choose to have the basic face always on, or other options that allow us to choose our own balance between usability and battery life.
 
p3ntyne said:
And also, since that watch is only slightly smaller yet has an OLED display, what is it that limits the watches battery life to under a day?
Click to expand...

I'm not an engineer but I would guess it has something to do with needing to fit the entire Apple S1 SiP (CPU, RAM, storage, etc.), Taptic Engine, display, and battery into a form factor of less than a cubic inch.
 
jabingla2810 said:
It's just where techonlogy is at.

No device, this small, this light, and this capable, has achieved better battery life.

It is what it is, and with each version, as technology moves forward, things will get better.
Click to expand...

But other manufacturers have... Why can't Apple?

bjdraw said:
My understanding is that when the watch goes to reserve power mode, it is on all the time (very basic digital time display). I'm hopeful that there are more settings added to the Watch so that we can choose to have the basic face always on, or other options that allow us to choose our own balance between usability and battery life.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that would be a good idea, even if it were just the face from the power reserve mode.
 
p3ntyne said:
But other manufacturers have... Why can't Apple?
Click to expand...

Cause other manufacturers have far superior smartwatches, you should purchase theirs.

All other manufacturers put microSD slots in their phones, doesn't mean Apple should too.
 
It uses up the most power out of any of the smart watches on the market today. Having the screen light up only when you need it is a good compromise to save battery.
 
tgi said:
Cause other manufacturers have far superior smartwatches, you should purchase theirs.

All other manufacturers put microSD slots in their phones, doesn't mean Apple should too.
Click to expand...

Batteries are a necessity, SD cards are not - I can assure you that no manufacturers are going to stop trying to improve battery life, let alone stop including batteries in their phones, anytime soon.
 
I wonder if you can set the screen sleep delay time ? - If I could strut around with that blue butterfly with it's wings flapping - gals (and guys) would 'say hello' . ; )
 
jabingla2810 said:
Who has created something as small, light, and capable as the Apple Watch, and got better battery life?
Click to expand...

Pebble - the 10 day always-on display makes up for less functionality. Asus - Zenwatch and their newly announced one (with 10 days again). LG and Motorola (although they're bigger.)

To be fair, none are perfect and they all seem to sacrifice at least one thing.
 
p3ntyne said:
Pebble - the 10 day always-on display makes up for less functionality.
Click to expand...

So you'd rather see this screen on for 10 days than an Apple watch? Hats off to you. I'm not a fan of the sub par resolution of eInk displays.
time_steel_3up.png
 
Armen said:
So you'd rather see this screen on for 10 days than an Apple watch? Hats off to you. I'm not a fan of the sub par resolution of eInk displays.
Image
Click to expand...

Maybe always on e-ink type that goes off when you lift your wrist or press the crown showing the gorgeous screen underneath?

Not sure if you can overlay screens like that without impacting the good display.
 
p3ntyne said:
Pebble - the 10 day always-on display makes up for less functionality. Asus - Zenwatch and their newly announced one (with 10 days again). LG and Motorola (although they're bigger.)

To be fair, none are perfect and they all seem to sacrifice at least one thing.
Click to expand...

So nobody has. Exactly.
 
p3ntyne said:
Pebble - the 10 day always-on display makes up for less functionality. Asus - Zenwatch and their newly announced one (with 10 days again). LG and Motorola (although they're bigger.)

To be fair, none are perfect and they all seem to sacrifice at least one thing.
Click to expand...

Ignorance. These are completely different technologies. My casio g-shock's display has been always-on for the past 9 years without a single battery change or charge. The downside is that it JUST TELLS THE TIME.
 
p3ntyne said:
What's your opinion of the lack of an always-on display. Since the screen is so efficient, and hardly any pixels would be lit, I don't see why that couldn't be an option.

And also, since that watch is only slightly smaller yet has an OLED display, what is it that limits the watches battery life to under a day?
Click to expand...

Personally I couldn't give a monkeys. If I'm not looking at it, it doesn't need to be on. I wouldn't say no to a better battery in a future revision of the hardware, which will obviously happen at some point. But even then they could keep the screen off when I'm not looking at it for all I care.
 
bjdraw said:
My understanding is that when the watch goes to reserve power mode, it is on all the time (very basic digital time display). I'm hopeful that there are more settings added to the Watch so that we can choose to have the basic face always on, or other options that allow us to choose our own balance between usability and battery life.
Click to expand...
Can you turn reserve power on or it comes on automatically
 
NT1440 said:
Who has an always on OLED screen?
Click to expand...

Most Android Wear watches can be set to be always on, although in some cases that means an ambient mode where the screen is dimmed until you raise it again. (My Moto 360 went 24 hours in that kind of "always-on" mode, and 36 hours with it set to only come on when requested by wrist or button.)

As far as always-on OLED, you must've missed my thread about my LG Watch R going two full days with its display on. Even in its ambient mode, the watchface I used looked like this:

lgr.jpg

As for the Apple Watch, maybe it uses up battery checking to see if it's been stolen off its owner's wrist. Something that Android Wear watches don't have to worry about as much. :rolleyes:
 
Jungo said:
I wonder if you can set the screen sleep delay time ?
Click to expand...
I'm really hoping they will add this ability. According to reviews, the watch face turns off after 6 seconds. That means you can't even easily keep the watch face on long enough to take a simple pulse reading on a patient. I can't imagine many medical professionals wanting a watch that won't let them take a quick pulse on a patient without having to constantly move their own wrist.
 
jabingla2810 said:
It's just where techonlogy is at.

No device, this small, this light, and this capable, has achieved better battery life.

It is what it is, and with each version, as technology moves forward, things will get better.
Click to expand...

p3ntyne said:
But other manufacturers have... Why can't Apple?
Click to expand...

Other manufactures don't even come close to the functionality of the Apple Watch. The Apple Watch is being asked to do a whole lot more.

Apple has pushed battery tech in some pretty cool ways. This isn't a case of weak battery tech, it's a case of huge demands on the battery.
 
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