Notification LED

Last updated
A notification LED on a smartphone

A Notification LED is a small RGB or monochrome LED light usually present on the front-facing screen bezel (display side) of smartphones and feature phones whose purpose is to blink or pulse to notify the phone user of missed calls, incoming SMS messages, notifications from other apps, low battery warning, etc., and optionally to facilitate locating the mobile phone in darkness. [1] [2] It usually pulses in a continuous way to draw the attention of the user. It is a part of the device's notification system that uses a cloud-powered push notification service to relay remote notification messages to the user, or local notifications. Similar to audio notifications, a notification LED is a very battery-efficient way to inform the user of new notifications without turning on the screen at all.

Contents

Overview

In any mobile phone or smartphone, battery life is an important consideration and the display is the component that consumes the maximum battery when it is fully lit up. In regular usage, a user may only want to briefly turn on his or her phone to check if anything requires attention.

By blinking unobtrusively, the notification LED light discreetly conveys to the user of any potentially important message or call. [3] This way, the whole display does not have to be turned on every time a message arrives, thus saving the battery. When the user is away from the phone or when the phone is in silent mode, the blinking LED can effectively convey the user that some action is needed. Conversely, if the light does not blink, then it conveys to the user that there is no unread message or notification that requires his or her attention, again saving battery and the user's time and effort required to unlock the device, and check for new messages.

In some phones, the LED notification light is also sometimes designed to glow red when the battery is low, [3] when the battery is charging and turn green when the battery is fully charged. This saves the user the hassle of turning on the screen to check the battery percentage.

While most phones include the notification LED light on the front side, some smartphone manufacturers like LG or Nokia have also integrated it into the power button, [4] while some phones from Motorola, Xiaomi, Razer or ASUS have their brand logo on the back side of the phone, serving as the notification light. [5]

Customization based on app

In some Android and BlackBerry smartphones, the notification LED light's behavior could be customized per app, so that, each color would indicate a different app. Apps like WhatsApp or Telegram also include a setting to set this color for the LED light. [1]

Alternative always on display feature

The notification LED light was popular when feature phones were widely used. In early smartphones running Windows Mobile or the Android operating system, the LED notification light was also a fairly common feature. These smartphones usually had LCD displays, so without the LED present, the entire backlight behind the display would need to be turned on to check for any new notifications.

Gradually, the smartphone industry has been moving towards OLED displays. With this transition, the dedicated notification LED light has slowly been eliminated from newer smartphones. There is also a focus by smartphone designers to minimize the screen bezels or keep them very thin, thus leaving no room for the notification LED light.

As a replacement for the LED light, some smartphones from Samsung, LG, Nokia include an Always On Display feature. On OLED displays, the Always-On Display (AOD) shows limited information while the phone is asleep, that is, when the entire display is not lit up. With OLED screens, only a part of the screen, or a few pixels on it can be turned on to convey information.

With any pixel on an OLED screen effectively being a notification LED, software can be used to customize its appearance. It can blink or pulse like a light continuously, or some phone manufacturers light up the display's pixels like a ring or have edge lighting.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smartphone</span> Handheld mobile device

A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, which facilitate wider software, internet, and multimedia functionality, alongside core phone functions such as voice calls and text messaging. Smartphones typically contain a number of metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) integrated circuit (IC) chips, include various sensors that can be leveraged by pre-included and third-party software, and support wireless communications protocols.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HTC Evo 4G</span> Android smartphone developed by HTC Corporation

The HTC Evo 4G is a smartphone developed by HTC Corporation and marketed as Sprint's flagship Android smartphone, running on its WiMAX network. The smartphone was launched on June 4, 2010. It was the first 4G enabled smartphone released in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motorola Flipout</span> Android-based smartphone

The Motorola Flipout is a phone made by Motorola and released in June 2010. Its touchscreen is 2.8 inches in size. It also has a 3.2-megapixel camera and comes in a wide variety of colors such as "Poppy Red", "Brilliant Blue″, "Licorice Black", "White", and "Saffron". However, in Australia, only "Poppy Red" and "Licorice Black" are available. The Flipout runs on Android 2.1. Its square-shaped body has two parts that rotate near the bottom-right corner to reveal a five-row QWERTY keyboard below the screen. It has an accelerometer and includes a web browser with Adobe Flash Lite 3.0. It also has a 720 MHz processor with a QVGA 320x240 pixel display.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motorola Photon</span> Motorola smartphone

The Motorola Photon 4G was a high end Android-based mobile smartphone that was distributed exclusively by Sprint. A very similar model was available as the Motorola Electrify from U.S. Cellular.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sony Xperia U</span> Smartphone model

The Sony Xperia U ST25i, codenamed Kumquat during its development, is an Android smartphone from Sony. It was launched at the 2012 Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona, and is the second Sony-only branded smartphone after Sony acquired Ericsson's stake in Sony Ericsson in January 2012. The Xperia U has a 3.5-inch (88.9 mm) touch-screen with the mobile BRAVIA engine which optimises the picture, a 1 GHz dual core processor, a 5 mega-pixel rear camera, 0.3 mega-pixel front camera, 512 MB of RAM, and 8 GB of internal storage. The cap at the bottom of the phone is interchangeable. The phone is shipped with four caps: pink, white, yellow and black.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HTC One (M7)</span> Touchscreen-based Android smartphone by HTC

HTC One is a touchscreen-based Android smartphone designed, developed, and manufactured by HTC. The smartphone was unveiled on 19 February 2013 at press events in New York City and London and is HTC's seventh flagship smartphone. It is the successor to the company's 2012 flagship model, the One X—which was critically acclaimed, but commercially unsuccessful due in part to insufficient marketing efforts. To make the device stand out among its competition, HTC One was developed with a major emphasis on unique hardware and software features; which included a unibody aluminum frame, a 1080p full-HD display, dual front-facing stereo speakers, a camera with a custom image sensor and the ability to automatically generate montages of media, an updated version of HTC's Sense user experience, BlinkFeed—an aggregator of news and social network content, and an electronic program guide app with the ability to serve as a universal remote via an IR blaster located in the device's power button.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moto X (1st generation)</span> Android smartphone developed by Motorola Mobility

Moto X is an Android smartphone developed and manufactured by Motorola Mobility, and released in August 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LG G2</span> Android smartphone

The LG G2 is an Android smartphone developed by LG Electronics. Serving as a successor to 2012's Optimus G and the 2013 Optimus G Pro phablet, the G2 was unveiled at a press event in New York City on 7 August 2013, and first released in September 2013. The G2 is primarily distinguished by software features that LG billed would "learn" from users, a high fidelity sound system designed to produce higher quality audio, a 5.2 in (130 mm) 1080p IPS LCD screen with technology that the company claimed would improve energy efficiency and reduce the size of the bezel around it, along with the unique placement of its power and volume keys—eschewing their typical location on the edge of a smartphone by placing them on the rear below the camera lens.

The Droid Maxx is a smartphone developed by Motorola Mobility. It is the first Droid to be a high end smartphone exclusively developed by Motorola for Verizon Wireless. It is part of the Verizon Droid line, and was announced on 23 July 2013 along with the Droid Ultra and Droid Mini at a joint Motorola and Verizon Wireless press conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moto G (2nd generation)</span> Android smartphone developed by Motorola Mobility

The second-generation Moto G is an Android smartphone developed by Motorola Mobility. Released on September 6, 2014, it is a successor to the original Moto G released in 2013. The phone was initially aimed at developing markets, although it is also available in developed markets as a lower-cost option compared to other phones in its class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moto E (2nd generation)</span> Android smartphone developed by Motorola Mobility

The second generation Moto E is an Android smartphone developed by Motorola Mobility. Released on February 25, 2015, it is a successor to the Moto E released in 2014. The New Moto E is a low-end device for first-time smartphone owners or budget-minded consumers, and is available in 40 countries worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moto X Play</span> Android smartphone developed by Motorola Mobility

Moto X Play is an Android smartphone developed by Motorola Mobility, a subsidiary of Lenovo. Unveiled on July 28, 2015, it was one of three devices that succeeded the second-generation Moto X. In contrast to the high-end Moto X Style, the Play is a mid-range device distinguished by its high battery capacity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Always on display</span> Smartphone feature

Always on display is a smartphone feature that has the device continue to show limited information while the phone is asleep. It is widely available on Android handsets, and is available on Apple iPhones since the iPhone 14 Pro. On some Android devices, the feature is sometimes called Ambient Display or Active Display, depending on its implementation and behavior. Depending on the phone's design, it may be a replacement or complementary to another feature, such as the notification LED.

Moto X4 is an Android smartphone developed by Motorola Mobility, a subsidiary of Lenovo. Unveiled on August 31, 2017, at IFA, it is a revival of the previously discontinued Moto X line. It was released in Europe at the end of September 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Android Pie</span> Ninth major version of the Android mobile operating system

Android Pie, also known as Android 9 is the ninth major release and the 16th version of the Android mobile operating system. It was first released as a developer preview on March 7, 2018, and was released publicly on August 6, 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pixel 3</span> 2018 Android smartphone designed by Google

The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are a pair of Android smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Google as part of the Google Pixel product line. They collectively serve as the successors to the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. They were officially announced on October 9, 2018 at the Made by Google event and released in the United States on October 18. On October 15, 2019, they were succeeded by the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sony Xperia 1</span> Android-based smartphone

The Sony Xperia 1 is an Android smartphone manufactured and marketed by Sony. Part of Sony's flagship Xperia series, the device was announced to the public at a press conference held at the annual 2019 Mobile World Congress event on February 25, 2019. It is the world's first smartphone with an ultrawide 21:9 aspect ratio 4K HDR OLED display, dubbed Cinema Wide, and Sony's first triple lens camera system featuring Eye AF eye-tracking technology seen in the company's Alpha line of professional-grade cameras. The Xperia 1 was later joined by a more compact variant, the Xperia 5, which was revealed on 5 September 2019. Compared to the Xperia 1, the Xperia 5 has a smaller 1080p screen, a smaller battery and a non-centrally aligned camera module.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sony Xperia 5</span> Android phablet

The Sony Xperia 5 is an Android smartphone marketed and manufactured by Sony. Part of Sony's flagship Xperia series, it was unveiled at the annual IFA event on September 5, 2019. The device is a cheaper, more compact variant of the Xperia 1.

The Motorola Razr (2019) is an Android foldable smartphone produced by Motorola Mobility. Unveiled on November 14, 2019, it was released on February 6, 2020. The device is designed to be reminiscent of the original Motorola Razr feature phone series and features a horizontally foldable screen.

The Sony Xperia 10 IV is a mid-range Android smartphone manufactured by Sony. Part of Sony's Xperia series, it was unveiled alongside the Xperia 1 IV on May 11, 2022.

References