this post was submitted on 08 Jul 2023
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Explain Like I'm Five

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466
ELI5: Why did LED notification lights silently got removed from phone? (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
115 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

They were a good indicator for notifications that are missed when you were away from phone.

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[–] [email protected] 72 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I also love notification LEDs.

I'm pretty sure the main reason for them disappearing is the displays extending all the way to to edge. There isn't any room left where to place it.

Also, on phones with always-on display, you can use the display to show notifications, the led is redundant.

But still, I find them really useful and am sad to see them being phased out.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

My phone does not have a LED notification light. It does however have a little green LED hidden near the front facing camera which is within the screen area. This light comes on only when using the front facing camera and I assume is some kind of indicator light. Why this can't be dual purpose or why another LED or even small sections of screen can't be used for notifications is beyond me.

I think the real reason they removed the notification light is to make people use their phones more. Now instead of a glance to see a light I actually have to touch my screen which could allow additional scans of my figerprints or face and could contribute to data tracking when I am most active on my phone.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Personally, I want that light to have one purpose and one purpose only, which is to tell me when the camera is on. It should be hardwired into the circuit powering that front facing camera and not touched by software at all, otherwise you open up the risk of someone recording you with the indicator disabled.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

I believe that's actually a legal requirement in some jurisdictions.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

I didn't think of this use case of the light. I honestly just assumed that most cameras would be able to bypass the light and record you anyway because I have very little trust left in big tech companies. Either way with our screen advancements it should be possible to embed a small LED or use a small section of screen for notification lights.