The iPhone 14 may be getting an always-on display, but Android phones perfected it years ago

What took so long?

While we Android users might still be recovering from the whirlwind that was Google I/O, Apple fans are preparing for their own developer conference. WWDC's keynote address is next week, promising an early look at iOS 16 before its launch later this year, and already, rumors are starting to fly. Once again, analysts expect to see always-on display support finally come to iPhones, starting with the upcoming iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. Unfortunately, all these rumors demonstrate just how behind the times Apple is, with a feature many of our readers rely on daily.

If the rumors of an always-on display coming to iOS sound familiar, it's because we went through this exact same cycle this time last year. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple intends to lay the groundwork for an always-on display, something that — thanks to hardware limitations — would be exclusive to the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max later this year. The company wants to leverage the LTPO display technology currently used in its watches to drop the frame rate as low as 1Hz. When combined with OLED, this implementation would let iPhone users view the date, time, and incoming notifications without a noticeable hit to battery life. However, because of this hardware requirement, only the latest Pro models would support it.

Of course, we know exactly how well this particular combination of technology works, as it's nothing new to the world of Android. Putting aside that this is the second year in a row where this exact rumor appeared online — only for nothing to materialize with the iPhone 13 Pro — it's a great example of how behind the times Apple is with productivity enhancements like this.

Samsung introduced always-on displays to its phones with the Galaxy S7 series in 2016, and while the company was far from the first to adopt it, it's become a mainstay feature of its phones. At the time, the feature was seen by some — including AP alumni David Ruddock — to be a bust, primarily thanks to its power draw. With AOD enabled, the S7 lost about 1% of its power per hour, or 10% in ten hours. That was a costly sacrifice, and while it did grant extra functionality, it was simply too much for some.

That said, I remember my S7 Edge fondly. Like many, it was the first phone I ever had with an always-on display. At the time, I was finishing up my final semester of college, and the ability to leave my phone on my desk in class, viewing all incoming notifications without the entire display illuminating, was a game-changer. Every single Android phone I've owned since 2016 has offered this exact feature, and they've all made the phone a lot more useful. There's no need to tap on the display to check the time, no need to rely on a smartwatch to see incoming notifications.

Since the days of the S7, always-on displays have come a long way. Samsung uses similar LTPO technology in the S22 Ultra that Apple is reportedly looking to utilize in the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, giving the phone a range of refresh rates between 1Hz and 120Hz. That said, the company doesn't limit its always-on display to these devices. Both the S22 and S22+ use LTPS to offer refresh rates as low as 48Hz (though some testing has shown these devices dropping as low as 24Hz). Neither is quite as power-saving as the S22 Ultra's screen, yet Samsung allows both phones to keep their screens on, showing notifications, widgets, and more.

There's no doubt that Apple will sell its always-on display as a revolution in modern mobile computing — assuming the company finally ships it this year. The company never makes it a point to be the first to a feature, always aiming to be what it considers "the best." In this case, Apple is neither. It's late to a game mastered by Android manufacturers years ago, and no amount of marketing can change that.