Visual cue for notifications

[Needkeys]

I am a small business owner. Myself and my employees are former blackberry users. We previously migrated over to Android devices and are considering upgrade options. The two most important features for our employees as noted in by them in a recent survey are contact groups AND the blinking led notifier we had on the blackberry and now have on our android devices. After weeks of research, we have figured out a solution for contact groups in iOS -- we can create the groups in iCloud, then sync them to iPhone handhelds, and then use them in the "to" field of any email or text. It's not as good as native support for contact group functionality, but it will suffice. This appears to be the only option available to us since each device syncs to a Microsoft exchange server and none of the apps on the store allow for forwarding emails to contact groups when the contacts are synced via exchange.

The bigger and unresolved issue is the blinking led notifier. The iPhone's flash led alert will not work for us -- we need visual cues for email, texts, calendar and phone/voicemail. And we need those cues not just when we're looking at the phone, but when we randomly glance at it without constantly pushing the home button. Here is no blinking led notifier on the iPhone. We have investigated whether there is a way to delay the lock screen from dimming after it lights up due to a notification (if there were options to keep it lit, for example, for 5 mins, that would serve the purpose). There is no native support to do that, although there is an app thru Cyril to do just this if we jailbreak the phones.

So we are at a dead end. The only other option is to get everyone Apple watches, but people don't want a second device just to get cued about incoming notifications without having to constantly look at the phone. Is there any option here that we are missing? Apple fans seem to feel strongly about not having a true led notifier, and so far app,e has refused to include such a notifier, so the question is whether there exists some way to have a visual cue about an incoming email, text, calendar alert, and phonecall/voicemail, that stays lit for at least 5 mins?

 

[robertk328]

Unfortunately I don't know of anything that would help you natively though I do understand the dependence on this function from previous phones. If Android phones offer this, that is probably going to be your best bet if you really need that function. If not, it's going to be a matter of training / relearning the notification style of iOS if you go that route. And checking the phone more frequently. The accessibility option to flash the light is a good starting point. I know several who use that!

Good luck.

 

[Sherry_B]

Check Google for iPhone cases that light up for notifications (they use the flash on your phone). There are a few out there, but be certain you research and read read read read read reviews (some are garbage). Here's an example (just an example);

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DFjRvE8XtI

 

[Needkeys]

Thanks Sherry. I've seen a few of this type of case advertised. My understanding, however, is that the led flash on the iPhone will only work for emails on a single occasion. In other words, the flash will light when an email comes in, but that's it...no repeat notification as with text messages. If that is true, then I'm not sure a case like this really does much for email notifications because you basically have to be looking at the phone when the email comes in to see the flash. The options that would work for some sort of visual cue seem to be:

1. Allow the lock screen to stay lit when a notification arrives for longer than just a few seconds; or

2. Allow repeat notifications for email and calendar and missed calls (this would make the case in your post workable); or

3. Some other form of screen change when there's a pending notification (something like the red dot that's on the Apple Watch when there's a pending notification).

I'm sure there are options I'm not thinking of. I would purchase a bunch of iPhones tomorrow if there was just some way to have a visual cue that allowed you to not constantly stare at the phone or hit the home button just to see if something is there.

Appreciate the suggestion though. Hopefully there's something out there that I'm just not aware of.

 

[Sherry_B]

I wish I could think of something, but I'm at a loss. I recently switched from an Android device and I really did miss the LED notifications at first. I'm fine without them now though.

I do use the default mail app, which allows me to use my own custom email notification sound. It's the old AOL guy "You've Got Mail!". I can hear it downstairs in the kitchen every time it goes off on my phone up in my office lol. The only problem with that though is custom sounds only work on the default mail app.

 

[robertk328]

I've seen those same cases but can't ever think of something I've come across that does multiple alerts.

 

[Needkeys]

Thanks. Yeah, I've been searching and searching and it seems to basically boil down to vibrations and sounds, which means you're tethered to the phone and constantly hitting the button (and draining the battery) just to see if there's something you need. Android is buggy as hell and requires constant tinkering to keep things running smoothly, but the ability to know just by a quick glance whether you have an email/text/missed call/voicemail is too much of a convenience to give up.

It's very unfortunate. Repeat notifications would do it, a delayed dim on the lock screen would do it, a small red dot would do it (like w/ the watch). We really yearn for the stability of iOS...but can't take the jump w/o some sort of visual cue for notifications. We have spoken with an IT guy about buying 20 devices and jailbreaking them all (there are jailbreak apps that accomplish all of this)...so we're considering that option...

Anyway, I appreciate all the replies. Thx.

 

[robertk328]

... a small red dot would do it (like w/ the watch). ...

You still have to look at the watch to see the red dot, just like you have to look at the phone to see the notifications. The red dot is only visible when the watch screen is on.

 

[Needkeys]

Ahhh...I thought the watch stayed on. I guess the better way to look at it then is how the watch can vibrate on your wrist. So you know if there's a notification on your phone that requires your attention, but you don't have to constantly look at it to check. We would get the watches but there's too much pushback to manage a second device for the sole purpose of getting cued about a notification. Just wondering why Apple doesn't include something to address this. I know they've done just fine without ever incorporating this type of feature, but surely it's an easy enough option to include in iOS, and there's got to be other business owners/users like us who would happily switch over if we could have some way of knowing whether there's a notification by glancing at the phone but not having to pick it up and turn on the screen. With the efficiency of the A9 processor, and the constant efforts to improve battery life, a feature like this would not only add a convenience for users like me, but would also reduce screen-on time and extend the life of a full charge.

All wishful thinking at this point. Hopefully something comes along...

 

[doogald]

There are rumors that Apple is switching to amoled displays at some point, and amoled displays, because they are not backlit, can efficiently turn on only a few pixels to show a notification, as Motorola started doing with the Moto X. Maybe that's what Apple will do with future iPhone models.

I switched from a Motorola phone to a 6s myself and I thought that I'd miss Moto Display for notifications, but I've come to be fine without any sort of visual cue of a notification. For one thing, my phone is almost always with me, so I hear the notification or feel the vibration. When the phone is not with me (eg, when I'm in the shower), I just press the power button when I come back to the phone to see if I missed something.

But, there are plenty of good phones with visible notifications, so I'm sure you'll be fine without iPhones.

 

[bcandiolo]

Apple should provide a lot more flexibility and efficiency in notifications.
Android is much more flexible, custom sounds, repeating notifications, Moto X type notifications, multi color configurable LEDs, etc.

Today I'd been playing a few minutes with a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge and realize how stupid iOS is compared to the many shortcuts, and plenty of notification options Android offers compared to Apple. A smartphone without good notifications is not that smart.

 

[Sherry_B]

Today I'd been playing a few minutes with a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge and realize how stupid iOS is compared to the many shortcuts, and plenty of notification options Android offers compared to Apple. A smartphone without good notifications is not that smart.

To be fair, neither is making bad posts about the iPhone where all of the members are iPhone users.

 

[Needkeys]

That's right. This is obviously a community of iPhone fans and there are certain features on both devices that make each unique and desirable for many users. The iPhone, for example, has the ability to set custom vibration patterns baked right into iOS. Android does not...you have to download an app to do that. And android's software integration can't hold a candle to the iPhone as there are too many different oem's taking android and putting their own flavor on it. What's left is an often buggy, choppy experience....especially after software upgrades. With that, however, notifications are definitely handled with more user options in mind on android. If iPhone had some form of visual cue that lasted 5-10 mins in its notification options, it would be a smart step and would attract users like me and my employees.

 

[bcandiolo]

Don't get me wrong, I love my 6s, only want it to be better, and smarter

 

[SwitchBeach]

As much as I liked having the LED notification on my BlackBerries, I have never missed not having it on iPhone. And frankly checking the screen for notifications doesn't really use that much battery over the course of the day.