IPHONE: APPLE'S ALWAYS ON DISPLAY IN THE FUTURE

Even Apple seems ready to embrace the world of the always on display . Rumors are increasingly persistent that the next iPhone, whether it is called 13 or 12S , will be equipped with that same function already present in the latest incarnation of the Apple Watch. This allows the wearable to have the screen practically always on, with the ability to view time and data at any time and without any touch on the screen, with minimal battery consumption.

Only by touching the display does it light up completely and is completely activated: a very useful function in a watch but that Apple could also bring in its next smartphone, making it one of its new strengths.

Historical change

IPhone users have always been used to being in front of a black screen, which is fully activated when the smartphone is picked up, showing the wallpaper we have chosen and rather basic information such as time, date, active connections, battery and any notifications. However, for some time, especially in the Android world , a function has been present that allows the screen to remain always on, albeit with minimal consumption , showing basic information that never disappears: the screen, for example, always shows the time or data that is they are chosen to insert and it turns on completely only when we decide to unlock the device and use it.

A popular feature that Apple somehow made its own in 2019 with the Apple Watch Series 5, successfully proposing it again in the next Series 6. The appreciation was unanimous and there are more and more rumors that the function will soon be transferred to the next iPhones .

Technical work

The work on the Apple Watch screen to implement the always on without consuming too much energy was rather complex and the result of the study of two different technologies: one concerns the low temperature polycrystalline silicon , which controls, in OLED screens, when a pixel is on or off; the other part from zinc oxide to determine voltage, brightness and the mix of colors provided by each pixel.

These two materials allowed Apple to use a very low refresh rate, minimizing power draw and brightness usage. All this translates into a negligible battery consumption and an overall duration that remains practically unchanged. After two years all of this could translate into the OLED screens of the next iPhones.

How will it be

The principle of the lock screen of the next iPhone 13 could be the same as seen in the Apple Watch. A screen that is always on, which would consume very little battery but always show the basic information that users are looking for. Time and battery percentage in the foreground, perhaps some notifications, perhaps in the form of different icons in a dedicated bar , in order to keep the switching on of the pixels, brightness and consumption to a minimum.

On a technical level, the screen should be a 120Hz ProMotion with the two technologies already used for the last two Apple Watch series inside, but on a larger scale, given the larger dimensions. The customization possibilities will naturally be reduced to a minimum, to avoid too much information and too much consumption, the brightness will always be dimmed while the notifications, as already happens today, will appear normally upon receipt, making the screen turn on: this however, unlike what happens. now, it will never light up completely, you will need to physically unlock your phone to do so.

A different release?

It remains to be understood how the unlocking of the iPhone 13 will be guaranteed. It is likely that you choose to use a set of technologies and sensors, in order to guarantee the effective usefulness of a display that is always on. It is difficult to choose a solution similar to today's, with the screen that turns on completely when the phone is picked up or simply pointed at the face: a choice of this type would make any use of an always on less useful. Probably opt for switching on the screen with a touch, a solution that would bring back the rumors about a possible return of the TouchID - this time positioned under the entire display - for unlocking.

From here many new paths would open, with Apple finally giving the possibility ofunlock the phone through various modes , perhaps freely selectable according to your needs, an eventuality that had almost always been precluded but which would certainly please lovers of customizations. Having the ability to choose how to unlock your iPhone, choosing which security methods to use would open up rather important possibilities, in their way even more fundamental than a display capable of staying on all the time .

Old but new

If the news, not yet official, were to be confirmed, Apple "would definitely make its" a feature that has long been present in the Android world. Always on displays are a rather popular reality and offer, paradoxically, a greater battery saving than having the screen continuously activate to check notifications and see the time. It might seem an apparently superfluous option: it is certainly not essential but it still represents an extra utility that had always been precluded to iOS users. If there were to be, we are sure that in Cupertino they will do things big, appropriating it and transforming it into a new strong point of their line, a bit like what happened two years ago with the Apple Watch.

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