Looking at all the features that older phones uses to have compared to newer ones, I never hear anyone talk about the removal of the notification LED. I personally really liked that feature, being able to see if I got an email, a text or missed a call without turning on my phone was awesome. My Samsung note 8 had this feature, but to my knowledge, newer phones (in the major companies anyway) have abandoned this feature. Did everyone else unanimously agree they don’t care for this feature?
The notification led is one of the biggest things I miss. I glance at my phone from across the room and based on the color of the led, I knew what notification I had. Now I have to check my phone periodically to see if/what notifications have been received. Particularly annoying when my phone is charging somewhere.
Same. My Nexus 5x was the last device I had with this feature. Until then evvry device I owned had it, and I always tweaked it so color was unique to each app. Its a shame when something not useful to 100% of users is phased out with no alternative.
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There is an app called aodnotify that can do that using the always on display option, but only displaying the notification light.
They flash the flashlight now. I was in a meeting last week and this marketing dipshits flashlight kept flashing on and off every time his phone vibrated with a notification
My classmate uses that and it’s really obnoxious.
This is an accessibility feature. My deaf friend uses it because he can’t hear the chimes and wants to know about notifications even if his phone is on the desk. That being said, it would be super distracting in a meeting.
That makes sense for the deaf, hasn’t thought of that. This guy isn’t deaf, just works in marketing so has to be as annoying as possible
I think very few people cared. The Nothing Phone has a feature similar to that though, where the back of the phone lights up depending on what’s happening (notification, call, etc).
I think the problem that notification LEDs were designed to solve is just solved in other ways now, notably smart watches or the Always-On Display for OLED devices. Both consume more power than a notification LED would, but they also don’t require a dedicated physical space on the phone.
I like notification LEDs, but I don’t use them for notifications. Instead as a battery/charging indicator.
For notifications I have Mi Band. This allows me to always have my phone on silent.Fun fact about one phone I have: The Moto G5s Plus does have a notification LED, but there’s no way to use it with stock ROM. The hardware is there, but it’s not used. I am not sure what weird decision has led there. Anyway, it can be used in PixelExperience (custom ROM).
I just bought a Sony Xperia 5 IV, it was released last November, and it has one. So they’re not completely gone yet. I really appreciate it. Always on displays seem like overkill for that purpose.
Headphone jack, 2 SD card slots, physical shutter button, front-facing speakers
Sony is really behind the competition when it comes to making worse products.
Haha, exactly why I bought it
Front facing speakers, SD card for Spotify downloads, shutter button is nice and basically stock android is great. The 21:9 ratio is something I don’t think I could live without now. It’s amazing.
That’s awesome that Sony is keeping the feature alive. I never liked the AOD concept, it just uses more battery than benefit it provides.
They dropped it in the newest Xperia 1 V. Still kept all of the other great features though.
I was going to say that my Xperia Z5S had one, but thought they may have phased them out by now. Good to see they still include this!
Nothing phones have excessive notification LEDs at the back of devices, and they are customizable.
Nothing is a OnePlus’ successor
The Sony Xperia IV series came out late 2022 and that still has a notification LED and a 3.5mm jack. The newer Xperia V series removed the LED but still has the jack.
I think my Xperia 1 has one, since it doesn’t do the punchole nonsense. There’s definitely a LED in the top bezel, and I think it’s color coded. To be honest, since I have a watch it’s not as relevant anyway. I do miss legacy features enough to have moved to this thing, though.
Not on newer phones. Similar to the headphone jack, most phones got rid of it to expand the bezel. You do get some phones that fake one by using the display, but an actual notification LED seems to be a thing of the past.
I use always on edge https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.used.aoe Love it.
This used to be a feature that you could filter by on GSMArena, but alas it has gone from even there.
I always enjoyed that feature. If memory serves, my Galaxy S4 had that and I found it useful.
It died like 10 years ago for AOD and bigger screens
I kind of miss it. It was discrete and useful.
AOD is kind of more discreet tho
True, but I found a flashing colour more informative. I knew instantly what it meant. With an AOD I’d have to look more intently at the phone or bring it closer to my ageing eyes.
It was the first thing I noticed missing when upgrading to a new phone (OnePlus 5 to Galaxy S22). It sucked, always on display uses too much battery and all I wanted was a colored notification LED.
I’m now using aodNotify (Free version is enough, but I decided to pay once because it was so good) and now I got a little animation in the notification color of my choice again.
Same! I recently went from the note 8 to the s23 and immediately realized how much I used the feature. I’ll have to check out that app. I don’t like AOD because of its battery usage.
