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Will there ever be a *true* notification light?

R

ruler22

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 2, 2010
57
2
PA
Unfortunately at the moment I'm on a Galaxy SIII because my iphone 5 got stolen NYE in 2012, and this is what ATT gave me for free when I threatened to leave (was trying to get a reduced price on the iPhone).

One of the very few things that I absolutely love about this phone is the front notification light, and how it has different colors that can be assigned to different things (different colors for emails vs texts, and customizable colors for texts from certain people, etc.).

This is something that I really, really wish Apple would add to their phones. I feel like it's such a basic feature now on current smartphones and it's a shame they don't have it yet.

Also, please don't say that the iPhone already has one...the camera flash as a notification light is such a caveman-like way to provide a notification
 
I doubt it. Apple has always been stubborn about adding anything they see as "frivolous". This includes notification lights, additional hardware buttons, and so on.

I agree that it would be a nice feature. And no, the flash doesn't make a good notification light unless you sleep with sunglasses on.
 
ruler22 said:
Unfortunately at the moment I'm on a Galaxy SIII because my iphone 5 got stolen NYE in 2012, and this is what ATT gave me for free when I threatened to leave (was trying to get a reduced price on the iPhone).

One of the very few things that I absolutely love about this phone is the front notification light, and how it has different colors that can be assigned to different things (different colors for emails vs texts, and customizable colors for texts from certain people, etc.).

This is something that I really, really wish Apple would add to their phones. I feel like it's such a basic feature now on current smartphones and it's a shame they don't have it yet.

Also, please don't say that the iPhone already has one...the camera flash as a notification light is such a caveman-like way to provide a notification
Click to expand...

No one knows. Maybe, maybe not. If they release the rumored "iWatch," the possibility of this seems less likely. But honestly, who knows.
 
ruler22 said:
Unfortunately at the moment I'm on a Galaxy SIII because my iphone 5 got stolen NYE in 2012, and this is what ATT gave me for free when I threatened to leave (was trying to get a reduced price on the iPhone).

One of the very few things that I absolutely love about this phone is the front notification light, and how it has different colors that can be assigned to different things (different colors for emails vs texts, and customizable colors for texts from certain people, etc.).

This is something that I really, really wish Apple would add to their phones. I feel like it's such a basic feature now on current smartphones and it's a shame they don't have it yet.

Also, please don't say that the iPhone already has one...the camera flash as a notification light is such a caveman-like way to provide a notification
Click to expand...

As long as you get your notifications reliably, who cares?
 
Irishman said:
As long as you get your notifications reliably, who cares?
Click to expand...

That's the point of a notification LED. If you miss a notification because you are away from your desk or doing something else where the audible signal is not heard (or the phone is muted) you are not getting your notifications reliably.

You shouldn't have to physically pick your phone up and turn the screen on to see if you've missed a notification.
 
eyoungren said:
That's the point of a notification LED. If you miss a notification because you are away from your desk or doing something else where the audible signal is not heard (or the phone is muted) you are not getting your notifications reliably.

You shouldn't have to physically pick your phone up and turn the screen on to see if you've missed a notification.
Click to expand...

Settings > General > Accessibility > LED Flash for Alerts.
Learn to use your phone before you bash it :)
 
pogoyoyo said:
Settings > General > Accessibility > LED Flash for Alerts.

Learn to use your phone before you bash it :)
Click to expand...


OP already mentioned this. Read the last paragraph. That's why he says he's asking for a "true" notification light.
 
ruler22 said:
Also, please don't say that the iPhone already has one...the camera flash as a notification light is such a caveman-like way to provide a notification
Click to expand...

Lol.. that's funny, what a caveman option! Apple innovates in some areas and really lags behind in others. A tiny notification light indicating I have new email, text, or voicemail waiting would be.. a few years too late. We're stuck with having to press the home button to be presented with all our notifications. Maybe at one time Apple didn't see a need for a notification light, but now they're a few years behind in this area.
 
I like it because it's so useful to just take a look at my phone and see that I have a notification waiting for me (and whether it's just an email, a text message, or a text from someone more close to me). It's better for me at work (when I have the phone on mute, and shouldn't really be checking it that much), and quicker and easier for me to check any other time (maybe saves battery by some small amount by not turning on the phone display just to check for a notification).

pogoyoyo said:
He calls it "caveman" like. It's not caveman like at all. However, dedicated notification lights ARE caveman like... go get a blackberry if that's what you need.
Click to expand...

Yes, because a very, very basic flashing light that:
-can be extremely bright in a dark situation, and can be kinda shocking when it goes off
-offers no differentiation between what type of notification it is for, or any customization
-probably uses more battery than a simple small led

is much more caveman like than something that offers the opposite of all of the above. Features that improve the usage of your phone shouldn't be considered bad, especially when there are noticeable advantages to it compared to what is currently in use.
 
Last edited:
I personally hate the led notification option, it lights up the whole room when it flashes in the dark, I just want a light glow of the home button (which i'm sure is what pretty much everyone wants)
 
pogoyoyo said:
Settings > General > Accessibility > LED Flash for Alerts.
Learn to use your phone before you bash it :)
Click to expand...
Did you read this?
ruler22 said:
Also, please don't say that the iPhone already has one...the camera flash as a notification light is such a caveman-like way to provide a notification
Click to expand...

I know my iPhone well enough to know what you're talking about. I also know it well enough to jailbreak it and install Flash Enhancer, which takes the Accessibility function you mention much farther. I've posted on Flash Enhancer a few times if you look through my post history.

None of this make the flash a real notification light.
 

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djplaxe2109 said:
Seems like a waste to me...
Click to expand...
Having to pick my phone up each and every time I leave my desk and then come back to see if there is a message is a waste of time to me. Knowing I have a message and what kind by looking at a notification light is a time saver, allowing me to determine if I want to pick the phone up or not.

It's a little thing, but turning on the phone to check for notifications gets old after a while. I guess not to so many people here, but there are enough of us that find this irritating.

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pogoyoyo said:
He calls it "caveman" like. It's not caveman like at all. However, dedicated notification lights ARE caveman like... go get a blackberry if that's what you need.
Click to expand...
So, you're saying an iPhone cannot do a basic Blackberry function?

What does that say about Apple?
 
I'd gladly welcome the feature.

With Android I had blue led meaning Facebook, white meaning message, green meaning email.

It was very handy to just look at your phone for a second to see if you needed to address anything. With the iPhone I have to do extra steps just to find out I didn't need to do anything to begin with (no notifications).
 
I'm torn on the feature. I always leave my phone face down (it's in the leather Apple case) so it wouldn't be very useful for me. I'm also wondering if there would be a significant hit on the battery life if your phone is constantly flashing due to some event? I'm thinking this is why Apple may not have included it at this point in time.
 
Black Magic said:
I'm torn on the feature. I always leave my phone face down (it's in the leather Apple case) so it wouldn't be very useful for me. I'm also wondering if there would be a significant hit on the battery life if your phone is constantly flashing due to some event? I'm thinking this is why Apple may not have included it at this point in time.
Click to expand...


Power drain report by Android was at the bottom of the list for me. Much less then turning on the screen especially turning on the screen to see you have no new notifications.
 
I would like to see a glow around the outside of the Home Button for notifications.
I think it would look pretty sweet too.
 
We need something like NoLED. It'a pretty weird that no one has made a tweak that works like it yet. Obviously, the big issue is that it causes screen burn, but I'm not sure that's a really big issue on the displays Apple uses for our devices.

I personally forgot what each color was for when I set it up on my old $80 Android phone. :eek: Hence I liked the NoLED approach better.
 
Black Magic said:
I'm torn on the feature. I always leave my phone face down (it's in the leather Apple case) so it wouldn't be very useful for me. I'm also wondering if there would be a significant hit on the battery life if your phone is constantly flashing due to some event? I'm thinking this is why Apple may not have included it at this point in time.
Click to expand...
As mentioned earlier, I have Flash Enhancer. My flash goes off every time I get a notification. I have taken no appreciable battery hit. Also, my WinMo phone which I used for three solid years had a notification light. No battery hits there. Apple can't do a LED notification light without a battery hit?!!!

Now, if I could just get the damn thing to work when I have the phone down on it's back! I do the opposite of you and pretty much never lay my phone down on the front. I'd much rather have the back scratched up if anything has to scratch then have the glass scratched because it was lying face down. Just me though.
 
eyoungren said:
As mentioned earlier, I have Flash Enhancer. My flash goes off every time I get a notification. I have taken no appreciable battery hit. Also, my WinMo phone which I used for three solid years had a notification light. No battery hits there. Apple can't do a LED notification light without a battery hit?!!!

Now, if I could just get the damn thing to work when I have the phone down on it's back! I do the opposite of you and pretty much never lay my phone down on the front. I'd much rather have the back scratched up if anything has to scratch then have the glass scratched because it was lying face down. Just me though.
Click to expand...

Scares the crap outa me when it goes off. Why can't Apple tone it down?
 
wmitch said:
I would like to see a glow around the outside of the Home Button for notifications.
I think it would look pretty sweet too.
Click to expand...
That's actually kind of what people were expecting (hoping) with the 5s. Turned out just to be a solid metal ring.

----------
Smeehehe said:
Scares the crap outa me when it goes off. Why can't Apple tone it down?
Click to expand...
LOL!!!

Yeah, yeah, I hear you on that. Light a big giant emergency light or something.
 
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