An always-on display is a fine thing. Android smartphones have had this for years, and Apple should finally follow suit with the iPhone 14. But who really needs that? Isn’t Apple shooting itself in the foot with this?
The iPhone 14 (all info) will be presented next week. Lines of code from iOS 16 soon after the release of the first developer betas made it clear that Apple would bring a new feature to the iPhone 14 models: an always-on display. The time and other information can thus light up permanently on the smartphone screen and can be read at any time. All you need is an OLED screen, which has been in use since the iPhone X. Nevertheless, according to current rumors, only the iPhone 14 models will get the “new” feature, although it is not even certain whether Apple is not selling this as a pure Pro feature. We will have final certainty next Wednesday.
With the iOS 16 betas, we already have a pretty good idea of what this always-on display could look like on an iPhone: The small widgets that can be placed below the time with the upcoming iOS version should also be there flash on the always-on screen. In addition, background images are said to be not completely hidden, but slightly desaturated – a big difference to all previously known always-on displays. After all, that would be a solid argument from Apple, which is why this feature is arriving so much later than the competition.
Isn’t Apple shooting itself in the foot with this?
The question I ask myself is: who needs it anyway? And that’s not meant to be disrespectful, seriously: what type of user needs an always-on display? Probably those who are not too easily distracted and use the smartphone as a watch in this case.
Theoretically, there is no need to ask about the benefit: the technology makes it possible and users are not disadvantaged because the battery performance is not – or only minimally – affected by this technology. So why give it up when you can?
From the user’s point of view, nothing speaks against it. But if I were Apple, I would never have brought an always-on display to an iPhone. “If you want to read the time, you should buy an Apple Watch,” would be my answer to Apple’s marketing department. In this product, an always-on display makes a lot more sense too. Apple’s smartwatch is a computer first and a watch second. But as it supplants the classic wristwatch from the wrist, the introduction of the always-on display in the Apple Watch Series 5 has felt a lot more natural than what’s possible on the iPhone. So it looks more as if Apple is slowly running out of ideas and then just sells a technology as new that could have been introduced on an iPhone five years ago. The technical requirements were in place for a correspondingly long time. Now it may be an always-on display from peer pressure: “Android smartphones have it too, now we have to follow suit!”
Of course I will try the new feature – if it actually comes out. And of course I will use it every day. As the owner of an Apple Watch, I could have done without it. But many other users will certainly see it differently.
reading tip
: Why the Apple Watch will steal the show from the iPhone 14
Tag: iphone design, iphone 14, apple iphone, iphone release