Heard a podcaster today going over his wish list for the iPhone, and the items included an all-day battery and an always-on screen. It seemed like he expected that these were things that were possible to do - Apple just needs to do them.
I would imagine that those two goals are at least somewhat contradictory, as an always-on screen in any form would use a ton of battery, but I’m willing to be wrong.
Curious as to y’all’s thoughts about whether this is even practically possible given the current state of tech, battery capacity, etc.
I could go for longer battery life – though there are add-on cases to do that. But “always-on-screen”? What’s the point. The screen comes awake when I pick up the phone – so what’s the benefit of the screen being on whenever I’m not looking at it?
I image it is possible to design a minimal always on display if Apple is willing to abandon “thin and light” for thick and heavy. But I agree with @anon41602260 - what’s the point? Need an always on screen? Buy an Apple Watch.
I think the idea was that if it’s on the desk next to you, the screen goes dark. Which I don’t see as a problem - especially since a quick tap wakes it up.
I’ve actually wondered whether this is good for the device or not. If it’s constantly charging / discharging the battery, the “screen that never sleeps” would seem to wear the battery faster. Whereas if the phone is smart enough to top off the battery and then just use the power outlet directly (bypassing the battery, effectively), it would probably not matter.
Some Android phones have the time on them when the screen is locked which is quite nice - having customisable things like the weather, next calendar appointment and such would be nice to have too.
I haven’t read this article but it at least has a nice picture of what the Android phone looks like with always-on enabled, so it’s certainly possible:
I’ve read several articles over the years that recommend keeping li-on batteries in a charge range of 40 - 80% whenever possible (for maximum life). I understand the Tesla Superchargers are set to stop at 80% unless a full charge is requested.
Some articles state that Apple has recommended this in the past but I can’t verify that.
Having widgets that you choose stay on when the iPhone is on a desk seems nice. It would be dead simple to turn them off when the phone is in a pocket to save battery.
Since one of the new display features is independently lit pixels (iirc), and Apple is able to reduce refresh rate as needed, I see this as something that will certainly come once they have figured out a good use for it. This is the first year of widgets, so I’m not surprised they waited.
For first cell-phone (some Siemens thing, GSM) I had two batteries, both thicker than an iPhone, to get me through a working-day. And a charger to load both of them (took hours) overnight in the office.
I find it very easy to get though the whole day. Charging is superfast, I have a cable charger in both my offices, at home, in my car, in my bag and an USB port is always to be found. But battery life is sufficient. I almost never need to charge durcing the working day. That said, more battery life is always good.
I don’t need an “always on” screen. What would it show? The lock screen? The time? In my pocket?
