'iPhone 13' could borrow always-on screen from Apple Watch

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware
The "iPhone 13" could have an always-on display mode similar to the Apple Watch, a report claims, reiterating rumors from early 2021 where users could be given visual alerts without wasting battery.




Apple is widely anticipated to be readying the "iPhone 13" range of smartphones for launch in the fall, alongside other products. While previous rumors point to the introduction of the ProMotion 120Hz display, a report claims the feature will enable another borrowed from the Apple Watch.

In a roundup of what to expect from the next generation, the Bloomberg "Power On" newsletter by Mark Gurman covers many other rumored additions, including the use of a faster "A15" chip and a smaller notch. Said in passing, the display will apparently have a 120Hz refresh rate, and will potentially have an "Apple Watch-like always-on mode."

Introduced in the Apple Watch Series 6, the always-on display allowed the screen to be readable but without wasting power on repeated updates to the screen. In February, it was rumored that a similar feature could be made available on the iPhone.

For iPhone users, this was thought to include keeping the battery and clock icons visible on the screen at all times, even if the display is locked, with notifications visible when required with a partially-lit display. With the screen only partially illuminated to allow the icons to show, this would save battery power compared to lighting up the entire display.

ProMotion rumors have circulated for a while, and were prominent for the iPhone 12 in 2020. For the "iPhone 13," it is thought that ProMotion could actually arrive, but only in the Pro models.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 24
    m85m85 Posts: 1member
    Always on display introduced on the series 5*
    williamlondonurashid
  • Reply 2 of 24
    dk49dk49 Posts: 284member
    No mention of battery life impact?
    edited July 2021
  • Reply 3 of 24
    JapheyJaphey Posts: 1,772member
    dk49 said:
    No mention of battery life impact?
    How is it even remotely possible to answer this question about a “rumored” and “potential” feature of an unreleased device? 
    macguimike1Rayz2016beowulfschmidtFileMakerFeller
  • Reply 4 of 24
    daniPhonedaniPhone Posts: 24member
    Wow! Only about 10 years behind android on that feature!
    williamlondon
  • Reply 5 of 24
    JWSCJWSC Posts: 1,203member
    I would hope this always on feature would not accept touch input.  As it is currently, I’ve “butt dialed” the screen much more often than should be possible.  That should never happen on this phone.  But it does.  I would prefer to activate touch from the side buttons.

    Maybe there’s something in Settings for this?
  • Reply 6 of 24
    JapheyJaphey Posts: 1,772member
    daniPhone said:
    Wow! Only about 10 years behind android on that feature!
    Who cares? 
    bluefire1cornchipwilliamlondondrdavidmacguiqwerty52Rayz2016fastasleepFileMakerFeller
  • Reply 7 of 24
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,854member
    This would be great, Apple has a patent from 10 years ago related to this with LCD, whereby they could light just a portion of the display for notifications/clock etc. It’d be much easier now with OLED, and OLED is much more efficient than LCD so there’d be minimal battery impact. No reason it couldn’t be done on any OLED iPhone really. But artificially limiting it to newer phones is another reason to upgrade so no chance they’ll bring it to older phones. 
  • Reply 8 of 24
    KuyangkohKuyangkoh Posts: 838member
    Japhey said:
    daniPhone said:
    Wow! Only about 10 years behind android on that feature!
    Who cares? 
    And ten years ahead of Android in income…lol
  • Reply 9 of 24
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,854member
    Japhey said:
    daniPhone said:
    Wow! Only about 10 years behind android on that feature!
    Who cares? 
    The majority of the populace that doesn’t worship a particular brand whilst ignoring every other brand/phone that exists? 
  • Reply 10 of 24
    cornchipcornchip Posts: 1,954member
    Why? I don’t even have raise-to-wake turned on? 
  • Reply 11 of 24
    JapheyJaphey Posts: 1,772member
    elijahg said:
    Japhey said:
    daniPhone said:
    Wow! Only about 10 years behind android on that feature!
    Who cares? 
    The majority of the populace that doesn’t worship a particular brand whilst ignoring every other brand/phone that exists? 
    So, are you saying that the people that don’t worship a particular brand are precisely the same people that do actually care which brand offered which feature first?

    Did it makes sense in your head while you were typing it?

    It’s 2021, and we have basically a two party system at this point with a small number of independents in the middle. The consumer is educated, and most are loyal to their platform of choice. The very small number of people in the middle? The people to whom you refer? Those people will choose based on recommendations from friends/family/salesperson, or what they can afford, what is included with the phone they are buying that day, or negative prior experiences. Not the fact that iOS had this feature 3 years before Android, or Samsung has this feature 2 years before Apple. 


    edited July 2021 williamlondoncornchipRayz2016
  • Reply 12 of 24
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 8,032member
    Japhey said:
    daniPhone said:
    Wow! Only about 10 years behind android on that feature!
    Who cares? 
    Anyone using an iPhone and wanting this feature probably cares. This is a feature that will be very welcome, even if very late to market. There have been a lot of features over the last few years that have been eagerly awaited and then finally arrived. Many people here have even publicly stated that have held off upgrading until X feature arrived.

    I'm sure some are holding off right now just on the rumours of higher screen refresh rates. Others will be waiting on a periscope lens. Others will be waiting for higher power wireless charging, bigger batteries etc.


    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 13 of 24
    fred1fred1 Posts: 1,133member
    Japhey said:
    dk49 said:
    No mention of battery life impact?
    How is it even remotely possible to answer this question about a “rumored” and “potential” feature of an unreleased device? 
    Uh, based on information from the watch?  Sheesh. 
    Just because the feature is rumored and unreleased (not minding the redundancy here) that doesn’t mean that we can’t speculate about matters like this. 
    elijahg
  • Reply 14 of 24
    flydogflydog Posts: 1,141member
    dk49 said:
    No mention of battery life impact?
    Common sense suggests that:
    • having the display always on would negatively affect battery life
    • Apple waited this long to implement it because it has offset that negative impact with energy savings in other areas
    fastasleepmattinoz
  • Reply 15 of 24
    flydogflydog Posts: 1,141member
    fred1 said:
    Japhey said:
    dk49 said:
    No mention of battery life impact?
    How is it even remotely possible to answer this question about a “rumored” and “potential” feature of an unreleased device? 
    Uh, based on information from the watch?  Sheesh. 
    Just because the feature is rumored and unreleased (not minding the redundancy here) that doesn’t mean that we can’t speculate about matters like this. 
    You're unable to "speculate" the impact on battery life of an always-on display? 


  • Reply 16 of 24
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    daniPhone said:
    Wow! Only about 10 years behind android on that feature!
    Well, look at it this way. 

    When it arrives, I’ll have reason number 24644666415997544466644224 not to buy an Android. 
    edited July 2021 williamlondon
  • Reply 17 of 24
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    elijahg said:
    Japhey said:
    daniPhone said:
    Wow! Only about 10 years behind android on that feature!
    Who cares? 
    The majority of the populace that doesn’t worship a particular brand whilst ignoring every other brand/phone that exists? 
    Darth Grammar finds your lack of clarity displeasing. 
    cornchipFileMakerFellerwilliamlondon
  • Reply 18 of 24
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 8,032member
    flydog said:
    dk49 said:
    No mention of battery life impact?
    Common sense suggests that:
    • having the display always on would negatively affect battery life
    • Apple waited this long to implement it because it has offset that negative impact with energy savings in other areas
    AoD uses negligible amouts of overall battery life and can be turned off completely. Options are good. 

    Some more modern implementations aren't even technically 'always on' but 'always aware' (Eyes On Display) . They detect when you are looking at the screen and instantly present the 'always on' display. 


    edited July 2021
  • Reply 19 of 24
    beowulfschmidtbeowulfschmidt Posts: 2,355member
    If it does, I'll turn it off just like I turned it off on my Watch.  I get that some people want that feature, and that's OK.  I have no desire to be using power (however little is actually being used, nor however much it's offset by other efficiencies) when I'm not looking at my device.
    cornchipwilliamlondon
  • Reply 20 of 24
    MplsPMplsP Posts: 4,045member
    avon b7 said:
    Japhey said:
    daniPhone said:
    Wow! Only about 10 years behind android on that feature!
    Who cares? 
    Anyone using an iPhone and wanting this feature probably cares. This is a feature that will be very welcome, even if very late to market. There have been a lot of features over the last few years that have been eagerly awaited and then finally arrived. Many people here have even publicly stated that have held off upgrading until X feature arrived.

    I'm sure some are holding off right now just on the rumours of higher screen refresh rates. Others will be waiting on a periscope lens. Others will be waiting for higher power wireless charging, bigger batteries etc.
    There have been several features that Android phones had before iPhones. And vice versa - no one claimed Apple was first with everything , except @daniPhone, and his comment was clearly made primarily to troll people. (It appears to have worked.)

    regardless, this wasn’t even a realistic option until either iPhones had OLED displays or mini/micro LED displays. 
    williamlondon
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