Adam Kos Before the arrival of iPhone 13, there was lively speculation that at least in the Pro version they should also bring support for the Always On function, i.e. a constantly on display displaying the given information. It is the Pro models that have an adaptive display refresh rate that would also record this. But would it be a win?
In the Apple portfolio, Always On offers, for example, the Apple Watch, which constantly shows the time as well as the given information. In the field of Android devices, this is a very common thing, especially after the signaling LED informing about various missed events disappeared from the phones. However, manufacturers of devices with this operating system do not worry about battery life when the function is turned on, while Apple probably does not want the always-on display to use the device's energy unnecessarily.
So this is where the advantage would be in the adaptive refresh rate, but the iPhone 13 Pro starts at 10 Hz, as do most of the better competition, so it would like to go even lower, to 1 Hz, to keep Apple happy. But the question is whether iPhone owners really need such functionality.
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Always On options on Android
It may look good at first glance, but on second glance you can easily find out that it is nothing world-shattering. E.g. on Samsung phones in Android 12 with One UI 4.1, you have several options for setting this display. You can show it only by tapping the display, you can have it really always on, show it only according to the chosen schedule, or show it only when you receive some new notification.
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You can also choose the style of the clock from digital to analog, even in a different color variant. You can also have music information displayed here, choose the orientation, and you can also choose whether you want to determine the automatic brightness of the Always On display. That's basically all, even if the display itself is also active. By tapping on the time, you can have various information displayed, or immediately go to the recorder and record sound. Of course, you can also see the remaining battery percentages here.
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Another extension
And then there's the Galaxy Store for Samsung phones. Here, instead of simply displaying information, you can animate growing flowers, burning skulls, scrolling quotes, and much more. But as you can imagine, not only does it eat up the battery even more, but it's also quite cheesy. However, Always On is also used in combination with various covers. Samsung, for example, offers its own with a minimalist window, which can also display relevant data.
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While I was originally a proponent of an always-on display, you only have to use it for a while (in my case when testing the Galaxy S22 range of phones) to realize that if you've lived without it until now, you can continue to live without it. So iPhone users will not have a problem without it in the future, but if Apple wants to attract more Android users to its side, I believe that they will simply miss this on iPhones. There is only one alternative to a constant overview of information, and that is in the case of combining an iPhone with an Apple Watch. And that, of course, is extra money spent.
If the iPhone brings this, why not, but I'll turn it off just like I have it turned off on the Apple Watch.