Resolved S5/S6 Display While Swimming

[Narked Diver]

I use my S4 when I’m swimming laps and I have to stop and tap the screen to get the display to turn on

Does the S5/S6 screen stay on all the time while swimming?

 

[nippyjun]

Yes it does.

 

[deeddawg]

That's one of the reasons AOD was a big deal for me - screen staying on while out on a run.

Big caveat though -- while the Apple Workout app will continue to display in Always-On, third party workout apps don't.

As with all third party apps, they go to a blurry-screen with digital clock superimposed.

 

[Monkswhiskers]

As with all third party apps, they go to a blurry-screen with digital clock superimposed.

That is something I hope will change in os8/aw7

 

[deeddawg]

That is something I hope will change in os8/aw7

That would be really nice. I’d hoped there’d be some provision for that in os7/S6, perhaps one day.

Folks should never bet on unreleased features though.

 

[Monkswhiskers]

Sure, I’ve pencilled myself in for buying the 7 though whatever happens so fingers crossed.

 

[antbob]

That is something I hope will change in os8/aw7

Me too. I was hoping it would change in WatchOS 7 but I havent seen anything and Apple cant seem to figure out how to do it. It was a good idea and everyone was excited until the battery drain numbers came in and they pretty much scrapped it with that blur thing.

The problem they are facing is that they dont wanna have the app running in background or invoked and then put to sleep often enough to update AOD like once a minute bc doing so will drain the battery. Even most Apple own apps still dont support it and those are made in house so they can be very strict wrt power consumption.

What they can do is release some support for 3rd party apps to provide at least some content before they get kicked to sleep. For almost any app out there displaying some information is better than that being blurred and if that info is time or space sensitive the app can mark it so clearly.

Another good option is to do what they done with complications and provide a timeline apps can submit in advance. Think giant version of complication with more info presented, more clearly.

 

[K4VKS]

Yes it does.

That’s great to know. I have a 6 on order and use my 4 while swimming also.

 

[Narked Diver]

Thanks for all your replies - I’ll look to upgrade to an S6 when they become available where I live