Since there is not an LED, what do you use for notification of urgent items?

[vintimus]

You can use the Light Flow app to fully customize any notification for any app including, color, how long it stays lit, the fast it blinks, etc. So just by the color alone, I can tell which app needs my attention.

I'm very surprised Apple hasn't implemented this in the home button. I think it would look really cool and be useful.

Personally, I think that would be a slick implementation of it. Have the ring around the home button light up. Set the colors for the alerts you want or just don't enable it if you won't use it.

 

[Newtons Apple]

Sounds like a lot of work to set up though...

I mean all this work and it only benefits you when you can't physically touch your phone but can visually see it. How often does this occur to make the hassle even worth it?

And if you turn it off, why have it? If you turn it on you're gonna have to turn it off every night.

What if you're watching a movie in the dark and the phone is in your peripheral just blinking nonstop.

Id rather just not have it and not worry about it.

It would irritate me more than help me.

Never mind the learning curve/memorization and setup hassle.

Bobby, if this is so we are admitting that Blackberry users are smarter than we are as all of this has been on Blackberry for years now and if you have ever used it, you do not forget how well it works.

How would it irritate you as you would turn it off and not use it. People who want this are not forcing you to use it, we just want the option but I can see that is not possible here.

What if Apple still only offered 4" phones?

 

[Bobby Corwen]

Bobby, if this is so we are admitting that Blackberry users are smarter than we are as all of this has been on Blackberry for years now and if you have ever used it, you do not forget how well it works.

How would it irritate you as you would turn it off and not use it. People who want this are not forcing you to use it, we just want the option but I can see that is not possible here.

What if Apple still only offered 4" phones?

Because when things light up like a toy, its generally a nuisance.

Why even put it on as an option if most people are gonna turn it off?

If you put it on there it sends the message that Apple encourages you to use it. Then you use it and irritates you.

Now that reflects on the whole iPhone experience negatively.

 

[Mr. Buzzcut]

Because when things light up like a toy, its generally a nuisance.

Why even put it on as an option if most people are gonna turn it off?

If you put it on there it sends the message that Apple encourages you to use it. Then you use it and irritates you.

Now that reflects on the whole iPhone experience negatively.

What does that even mean? Learning toys and handheld video games are enclosures with LCD screens just like the iPhone. Professional instruments almost always have LEDs to report the status of various functions. Your statement is a bit naive. It's fine if you don't want it but don't pretend it somehow turns the iPhone into a toy to justify your opinion.

 

[BigHonkingDeal]

Yeah, I get that this is somewhat helpful to some people, but I'm always surprised by just how important some people say it is to them. On a list of features it would rank way, way near the bottom for me.

When I used an Android phone for a while that LED light was pretty much flashing all the time....... emails, texts, phone calls etc. One can be pretty sure that if you leave your phone alone for some tim the thing is lit up when you return.

You have to turn it own to check anyway..... so what's the point.

 

[mercuryjones]

What does that even mean? Learning toys and handheld video games are enclosures with LCD screens just like the iPhone. Professional instruments almost always have LEDs to report the status of various functions. Your statement is a bit naive. It's fine if you don't want it but don't pretend it somehow turns the iPhone into a toy to justify your opinion.

I'll give you an excellent comparison - for me, the blinking LED is just like the Samsung software "enhancements' that they gave to Android. Videos that use when you look away, smart gestures, etc. They touted them as "cool" and people used them for all of 2 minutes before turning them off. I feel as if the LED serves the exact same function. Cool for a few minutes and then it gets turned off never to be used again. So, why waste time on trying to implement it for the iPhone then?

 

[Mr. Buzzcut]

I'll give you an excellent comparison - for me, the blinking LED is just like the Samsung software "enhancements' that they gave to Android. Videos that use when you look away, smart gestures, etc. They touted them as "cool" and people used them for all of 2 minutes before turning them off. I feel as if the LED serves the exact same function. Cool for a few minutes and then it gets turned off never to be used again. So, why waste time on trying to implement it for the iPhone then?

Not really a good comparison at all. It isn't a new novelty item that people play with a bit then put aside and quickly forget. It's a feature that has been around for decades and was implemented rather well on Blackberry. So quite a few people are simply asking for something they find useful on another phone or found useful in the past.

 

[Arran]

your phones screen being black tells you nothing.

That's a good point, but the LED, when it's off, doesn't reliably tell you anything either. It could mean one of the following:

• No urgent notifications. Relax. Life is good.
  OR
• Your battery is dead. You may have some real "hair-on-fire" emergencies going on in your life right now, but if you casually glance across the room your phone will be telling you, "Relax, life is good". It will of course be lying.

So the only way to be sure which one it is, is to pick it up and turn on - just like iPhone.

So I'm wondering if that's why Apple shun LED's? Because they can be misread.

 

[Mr. Buzzcut]

That's a good point, but the LED, when it's off, doesn't reliably tell you anything either. It could mean one of the following:

• No urgent notifications. Relax. Life is good.
  OR
• Your battery is dead. You may have some real "hair-on-fire" emergencies going on in your life right now, but if you casually glance across the room your phone will be telling you, "Relax, life is good". It will of course be lying.

So the only way to be sure which one it is, is to pick it up and turn on - just like iPhone.

So I'm wondering if that's why Apple shun LED's? Because they can be misread.

Good lord. The LED can tell you when your battery is getting low. Are y'all getting it now?

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Since there is not an LED, what do you use for notification of urgent items?

If by the slimmest luck imaginable Apple decide to put one of these LED notification lights on the iPhone, I will declare it amazing because Apple have done it, just to wind some of you up! Haha. It's rubbish until they do it will be my opening line.

Take it easy chaps there really are more pressing issues to get passionate about.

 

[Arran]

Good lord. The LED can tell you when your battery is getting low. Are y'all getting it now?

Low, perhaps. But not when it's dead.

----------

If by the slimmest luck imaginable Apple decide to put one of these LED notification lights on the iPhone, I will declare it amazing because Apple have done it, just to wind some of you up!

So is that what this is about?

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

So is that what this is about?

Nah just written in hope that there is somebody else out there with a sense of humour amongst a thread of angry people with and without LED love.

 

[Newtons Apple]

Because when things light up like a toy, its generally a nuisance.



If you put it on there it sends the message that Apple encourages you to use it. Then you use it and irritates you.

Now that reflects on the whole iPhone experience negatively.

I am glad I do not think like you.



----------

That's a good point, but the LED, when it's off, doesn't reliably tell you anything either. It could mean one of the following:

• No urgent notifications. Relax. Life is good.
  OR
• Your battery is dead. You may have some real "hair-on-fire" emergencies going on in your life right now, but if you casually glance across the room your phone will be telling you, "Relax, life is good". It will of course be lying.

So the only way to be sure which one it is, is to pick it up and turn on - just like iPhone.

So I'm wondering if that's why Apple shun LED's? Because they can be misread.

With the LED you do not have to pick up your phone and you can use both hand to put the fire out in your hair!

----------

When I used an Android phone for a while that LED light was pretty much flashing all the time....... emails, texts, phone calls etc. One can be pretty sure that if you leave your phone alone for some tim the thing is lit up when you return.

You have to turn it own to check anyway..... so what's the point.

I can see why some Apple people would not be able to use a LED

 

[Arran]

Nah just written in hope that there is somebody else out there with a sense of humour amongst a thread of angry people with and without LED love.

Okay, I get it now.

I agree. This place could do with more humour.

 

[Mxbzz]

Low, perhaps. But not when it's dead.

Before it's dead, your LED notification would have warned you about the low battery for a good few hours. If it suddenly stopped without any user intervention, I'm pretty sure you can assume your battery is dead.

 

[Mr. Buzzcut]

Before it's dead, your LED notification would have warned you about the low battery for a good few hours. If it suddenly stopped without any user intervention, I'm pretty sure you can assume your battery is dead.

Someone with some sense. This isn't that difficult, or so I thought.

Some of the folks here are more dense than a solid gold Apple Watch.

 

[Geckotek]

I have my settings to alert 3x for an incoming message. I would have to be far away from my phone for over 15-20 minutes to totally miss the incoming message.

Yeah, like my fiancee who is a teacher and leaves her phone for hours at a time. It may be in her purse or in another room in her school where she's left it charging. Being able to glance at her phone without removing it from her purse or from across the room as she walks by would let her know quickly if she had an e-mail, voice mail, text message, or Kakao Talk message to reply to. Each of those types of messages means something different to her and each has it's own level of urgency so she knows if she can leave it for later or should check it right away.

 

[mercuryjones]

Yeah, like my fiancee who is a teacher and leaves her phone for hours at a time. It may be in her purse or in another room in her school where she's left it charging. Being able to glance at her phone without removing it from her purse or from across the room as she walks by would let her know quickly if she had an e-mail, voice mail, text message, or Kakao Talk message to reply to. Each of those types of messages means something different to her and each has it's own level of urgency so she knows if she can leave it for later or should check it right away.

How many people leave their phone alone for hours at a time and then use a notification light as their means of determining if there is something to attend to? After a few hours, most people would have at least ONE thing to deal with.
That has to be the worst justification for a LED light ever.

 

[Newtons Apple]

Okay, I get it now.

I agree. This place could do with more humour.

Even humor would not stop threatening Apple users when new ideas are suggested. It is the way it has always been here.

 

[legioxi]

Personally my phone is silent all the time. No vibrate, no sound, no notifications. Too many emails, notifications, calls, etc to have a non-stressful time with the phone near me. I keep it face down as well to avoid noticing the screen coming on. Every now and then, when I can, I check it and respond to messages.

Ever since I started doing this (8-12 months ago), life has been a lot less stressful, I'm not chained to my phone and people can't interrupt my life through it. Yes, I could just do without the phone but I use it enough to justify keeping it around (plus it is my internet for my laptop and work).

With all that said, I think adding an LED for notifications would be great. Why? Because other people use their phones in other ways. Options are good to have. I would shut off the LED on my phone but I know many people who would use it. To me, that's a plus for the iPhone.

 

[mercuryjones]

Personally my phone is silent all the time. No vibrate, no sound, no notifications. Too many emails, notifications, calls, etc to have a non-stressful time with the phone near me. I keep it face down as well to avoid noticing the screen coming on. Every now and then, when I can, I check it and respond to messages.

Ever since I started doing this (8-12 months ago), life has been a lot less stressful, I'm not chained to my phone and people can't interrupt my life through it. Yes, I could just do without the phone but I use it enough to justify keeping it around (plus it is my internet for my laptop and work).

With all that said, I think adding an LED for notifications would be great. Why? Because other people use their phones in other ways. Options are good to have. I would shut off the LED on my phone but I know many people who would use it. To me, that's a plus for the iPhone.

That's fine. Use your phone however you want. My main concern is the pro LED group telling me that the way I use my phone right now is the wrong way. As if, letting the screen light up and seeing the notifications that are there, is somehow incorrect.

 

[Newtons Apple]

Personally my phone is silent all the time. No vibrate, no sound, no notifications. Too many emails, notifications, calls, etc to have a non-stressful time with the phone near me. I keep it face down as well to avoid noticing the screen coming on. Every now and then, when I can, I check it and respond to messages.

Ever since I started doing this (8-12 months ago), life has been a lot less stressful, I'm not chained to my phone and people can't interrupt my life through it. Yes, I could just do without the phone but I use it enough to justify keeping it around (plus it is my internet for my laptop and work).

With all that said, I think adding an LED for notifications would be great. Why? Because other people use their phones in other ways. Options are good to have. I would shut off the LED on my phone but I know many people who would use it. To me, that's a plus for the iPhone.

I am jealous!

I wish I could ignore my phone but a great part of my company's success is due to my customers being able to get hold of me or my VP instantly during working hours. When they need something and take the time to call me, I WANT to be there for them. It is how I have built a successful business.

 

[Geckotek]

How many people leave their phone alone for hours at a time and then use a notification light as their means of determining if there is something to attend to? After a few hours, most people would have at least ONE thing to deal with.
That has to be the worst justification for a LED light ever.

OK, then maybe a half-hour to an hour at a time? Either way, just long enough to maybe get an unimportant e-mail and nothing more. A quick glance across the room lets her know this. You can't sit here and dictate that this feature is not useful to anyone just because you don't think it is.

Try to argue all you like, it's a useful feature that would be cheap and easy to implement and easily turned off for those that don't want it.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

It just dawned on me as I was prodded in the arm! Our office secretary hassles me when I don't respond to some important emails or when I miss meetings and if I had a notification light I would have less of an excuse. She is my notification light and a lot prettier

 

[Geckotek]

That's fine. Use your phone however you want. My main concern is the pro LED group telling me that the way I use my phone right now is the wrong way. As if, letting the screen light up and seeing the notifications that are there, is somehow incorrect.

Who's telling you it's wrong? It's fine if you don't want to use an LED. What I see going on mostly in this thread is the con-LED group telling everyone else that it's not useful at all because their limited or lack of experience with the feature tells them otherwise. (And by limited I mean limited to their personal usage and circumstances).