General suggestions for best notification LED replacement app - Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

My first Samsung mobile and the first with punch hole camera display. I was using pixel 2 till now, and first thing I miss is notification light (definitely after squeeze, my favorite pixel feature).
Trying to find an app which can 'efficiently (battery friendly)' use Always On Display capabilities to provide notification LED like functionalities (can be paid also).
I have found below three (other suggestion are welcome too)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.used.aoe > 4.3/149,006 total > last updated 26 February 2022
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jamworks.alwaysondisplay > 4.2/17,370 total > last updated 23 February 2022
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.anker.ledmeknow&hl=en_AU&gl=US > 4.3/ 8158 total >last updated 18 July 2020
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=you.in.spark.energy.ring.gen&hl=en_AU&gl=US > 4.0 /4727 >last updated 6 January 2022

Try AODNotify from play store it works grear

butchieboy said:
Try AODNotify from play store it works grear
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Click to collapse
just saw the thread for the app, will give it a try. Thanks

Like you, I went from a Pixel 2 to a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and missed the notification LED too. I have tried three different apps and found that having to work within the Samsung/Google hardware/software environment, these apps are forced to rely on the built in AOD subsystem with its limitations and requirements. This forces a simple function, blinking a small preset screen area if and when a notification arrives, to use an exorbitant amount of battery power. Between the app and the AOD subsystem, they can easily use 10% or more of the available battery charge per day. I am still tinkering with AODNotify to see if I can possibly reduce battery consumption, but I’m not too optimistic. I have submitted a request to Samsung, asking them to add this functionality to their software, which would probably solve the battery consumption issue. I am waiting for their response to my request. I have an S22 Ultra on order and one way or another, I would like to have LED notification functionality on my new phone.

neilth said:
Like you, I went from a Pixel 2 to a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and missed the notification LED too. I have tried three different apps and found that having to work within the Samsung/Google hardware/software environment, these apps are forced to rely on the built in AOD subsystem with its limitations and requirements. This forces a simple function, blinking a small preset screen area if and when a notification arrives, to use an exorbitant amount of battery power. Between the app and the AOD subsystem, they can easily use 10% or more of the available battery charge per day. I am still tinkering with AODNotify to see if I can possibly reduce battery consumption, but I’m not too optimistic. I have submitted a request to Samsung, asking them to add this functionality to their software, which would probably solve the battery consumption issue. I am waiting for their response to my request. I have an S22 Ultra on order and one way or another, I would like to have LED notification functionality on my new phone.
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Thanks for this detailed reply, would be great if something like this basic functionality is provided out of the box.

Exactly, one would think that for their top of the line phones it would be a no brainer! BTW, in the AODNotify app, in the settings there’s an option where you set the notification duration, how long you would like the notification to blink on the screen. There’s a warning there telling you that if you set this much over 5 minutes I think it says, that you will notice a big impact on battery consumption. Five minutes is way too short for me!

Another vote for aodnotify, I have used this on my S20 Ultra and now on my S22 Ultra. It is not a battery hog, and I really don't see much difference on battery usage. Keep in mind which display you choose and their duration.

larryk said:
Another vote for aodnotify, I have used this on my S20 Ultra and now on my S22 Ultra. It is not a battery hog, and I really don't see much difference on battery usage. Keep in mind which display you choose and their duration.
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What do you have the notification LED duration set to?

I set only show when screen is off, duration 15 minutes, camera edge and blink eco.
I set my app colors to match the edge lighting

larryk said:
I set only show when screen is off, duration 15 minutes, camera edge and blink eco.
I set my app colors to match the edge lighting
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Click to collapse
Thank you and good night.

Related

Restrict all background data when screen is locked

Hi,
I come from sony xperia z3 compact, which had a really cool feature, stamina mode, and what i especially liked about it, is that when it was activated and you locked your phone (screen lock) - it restricted ALL background data, no exceptions. Only when you lighted the screen, it would activate the data. Does anyone know, how can i achieve the same feature with the Samsung S7. Basically all i want is that if i lock my screen, all the background data is truly disabled?
Samsung's equivalent of stamina mode would be the "Power Saving" option, of which there is two tiers("Mid"and "Max"). Background data is restricted by default in both modes, although I think the "Mid" tier still allows it periodically.
Yeah i saw them, thanks for the input, although the MAX setting makes the phone lose its features. I will try the MID setting (i disabled the limiting of cpu and some other stuff, because i want it to function normally when i use it). Maybe theres an app, that will make it work just like i want it. Because the s7 battery should last longer - with sony, wifi off and background data restricted, i sometimes got like 4 days without charging. I am not a 24/7 nose in the screen type of a guy anyways, i mostly call and when neccessary look stuff up on google and read my mails. Would be nice to extend this S7 battery to around 3 days or so with such usage.
Mickovich said:
Yeah i saw them, thanks for the input, although the MAX setting makes the phone lose its features. I will try the MID setting (i disabled the limiting of cpu and some other stuff, because i want it to function normally when i use it). Maybe theres an app, that will make it work just like i want it. Because the s7 battery should last longer - with sony, wifi off and background data restricted, i sometimes got like 4 days without charging. I am not a 24/7 nose in the screen type of a guy anyways, i mostly call and when neccessary look stuff up on google and read my mails. Would be nice to extend this S7 battery to around 3 days or so with such usage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can add *some* apps for use in MAX mode, most notably WhatsApp. Maybe use Tasker to toggle data when the screen turns off?(Would need root though). But yeah, there's only so much you can do for a big AMOLED paired to a power hungry SoC I've never known more than a day and a half's usage though. Perhaps other people have better suggestions.
so far its been 6,5h since last charge, and its on 91% - with the mid power saver mode, cpu limiter disabled, screen res on FHD, screen brightness about 40-45%, wifi off, and gps on high accurancy - it looks somewhat promising. I'll see how long it will last on that charge and proceed from there.

Does it have a notification LED?

I rarely use my phone and don't obsessively check it. If something needs my attention it flashes the coloured led on an every 1-second cycle. I have colours set up for email, sms and whatsapp.
I can see it at a glance on my desk/couch without needing to pick up the phone, I also know a notification is waiting for me if I was far away from the phone to hear the notification sound or vibration. I'm also deaf so I don't take voice calls, so anything that is an emergency will be in text form and has to grab my attention.
This is why I had to skip buying the OnePlus 6T - it has no LED. Other alternatives such as the Xiaomi Pocophone F1 has only 1 colour on its LED. I don't know what other alternatives there are. I've always stuck with phones that are easily unlockable and has good ROM support (Nexus 4 to OPO to OP3 currently), so I can finetune the LED colours and timing frequency on a per app basis.
p.s. I'm aware there are third-party tools such as Always on Amoled on Google Play. But I have no idea if it's any good, development may stop at any time, and they're usually battery drainers.
I'm totally same boat with you and we are sinking.
WHY in Earth notification led is removed now days?
It was probably best thing Android had starting day 1. when I started use it (2008)
I'm also using OnePlus 5T still because led removed after this model....
It doesn't have the LED, but it does light up the left side of the screen instead: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B9cJeF0x8Q
If this can be properly customized (make this the only trace of ambient display, set colors for individual apps and ideally shift the light strip to the top side instead of the left side to use a litte bit less battery) I'd be fine with that
Wow! This sounds awesome if can customize!
Normal 7 don't have nothing I think?
Villelj said:
Wow! This sounds awesome if can customize!
Normal 7 don't have nothing I think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The guy presenting this review says that both the pro and non-pro have the feature https://youtu.be/_e5Imvxw8kk?t=204
However, I'd like to see a video of it working on the non-pro variant just to be sure it really does have the feature. Would also like to know whether it can be set to keep lighting intermittently until the notification is manually dismissed, just like a LED notification light works.

Three real-life problems about S10e

1- I couldn't figure out how to see the screen on time as after unplugging the phone. The Android 10 insists on showing daily screen time but I don't think it's relevant info regarding SoT.
2- There is a problem with sounds. I'm using Bixby routines and when I'm at work I adjusted the profile to make the phone silent. However, when I leave work and when the profile turns the sound on, the recent sound levels seem to gone and I have to adjust ringer and notification sounds manually. There is no a static level for sounds could be chosen whatsoever.
3- The last problem is about screen recorder. When screen recorder is on there isn't an option to hide notifications but there must be an option about this.
hopelives said:
1- I couldn't figure out how to see the screen on time as after unplugging the phone. The Android 10 insists on showing daily screen time but I don't think it's relevant info regarding SoT.
2- There is a problem with sounds. I'm using Bixby routines and when I'm at work I adjusted the profile to make the phone silent. However, when I leave work and when the profile turns the sound on, the recent sound levels seem to gone and I have to adjust ringer and notification sounds manually. There is no a static level for sounds could be chosen whatsoever.
3- The last problem is about screen recorder. When screen recorder is on there isn't an option to hide notifications but there must be an option about this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For the first one, I highly recommend AccuBattery app. It shows detailed charging/discharge statistics, as well as the battery health.
I couldn't understand why Samsung didn't add something like "Battery usage since last full charge" though.
jamcry said:
For the first one, I highly recommend AccuBattery app. It shows detailed charging/discharge statistics, as well as the battery health.
I couldn't understand why Samsung didn't add something like "Battery usage since last full charge" though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using GSam pro for this since Samsung's own app messed up with daily indicator crap.

Question Notification on outer screen with AOD off

Not sure if this is possible, but thought I would ask. I have AOD off (save battery) but would love to have just the yellow notification dot appear when I have an email or text. Anyway to make that happen?
Thanks
ghebb_ns said:
Not sure if this is possible, but thought I would ask. I have AOD off (save battery) but would love to have just the yellow notification dot appear when I have an email or text. Anyway to make that happen?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Settings -> Cover screen -> Turn on screen for notifications
twistedumbrella said:
Settings -> Cover screen -> Turn on screen for notifications
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Thanks but does that keep the dot on or just for 15 seconds? What I would like is to be able to look down at my phone (even if I have left it for awhile) and see if I have a message.
I was literally just thinking this! I also have AoD off to save battery. Would love to have a pixel(s) that flash around the screen randomly if/when you have a notification.
Not sure about that. Possibly an app? I don't know that edge lighting is "smart" in that it swaps to the cover.
There are a few apps in the playstore that do this but for regular phones. Will try a couple and see if they can be used on the cover screen
D4rk4 said:
I was literally just thinking this! I also have AoD off to save battery. Would love to have a pixel(s) that flash around the screen randomly if/when you have a notification.
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Click to collapse
Tap on AOD should use very little battery in standby. On my N10+ it's around .5%@hr with internet/phone enabled.
Quiet time is healthy for you... being available 24/7 is no blessing at all. After I go to bed I rarely look at the phone.
Audible/tactile notifications may be an option in standby too.
There's Edge lighting but that was always less than reliable even with the display on
D4rk4 said:
There are a few apps in the playstore that do this but for regular phones. Will try a couple and see if they can be used on the cover screen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as none of them target a specific display, it should be possible.
Might be worth taking a look at the fold or previous flip to see if they had a solution. Basically any phone that has a cover screen
I found this on the first flip thread:
Notification light in cover display
Hi people, got notification light working on Z Flip with Tasker :) You can modify icon and text its showing. Basically notification of your choice (WA, Telegram, etc. ) triggers it, then Tasker issues notification in every 2 sec. as long as...
forum.xda-developers.com
It is almost one year, since my first Flip 5G, I am trying to find a solution to have a permanent dot notification on outer screen, no party.
Now with Flip 3, same story.
I do not understand why a developer isn't willing to create an app for that.
I would pay and others would do, as me...
Just tap the screen once and you'll see the dot, double tap to fully wake it up.
I wrote "permanent", meaning that the dot is continuously blinking even with screen off in case of a notification.
In the oneui4 release notes it says it can turn the AOD ON when there is a notification. Im hoping that does what it sounds like because I miss this as well.
The app aodnotify works on the Z Flip3, at least enough to be useful.
Basically you set it up so always on display is off unless a notification is received. Then set it so the screen will turn on and stay on for however long you want. That will make the exterior screen turn on (assuming the phone is closed) for the time you set. I set mine to 2 min and it hasn't had any real effect on battery life. If the phone is open then it can still do edge lighting, blinking dot etc on the main display.
If it wasn't for aodnotify I'd never know when I have a notification unless I stared at the phone all day but with the screen staying on for 2 min I usually notice because I'll catch it in my peripheral vision or when I glance at it.
Recently someone posted code to control the exterior display. It's located here..
Cover Screen Support Campaign
Samsung has done it again with the proprietary meta-data and added their own requirements on using apps on the cover screen, not unlike their silly tags for VR and multi-window. Do you use an app that wouldn't cause any privacy concerns on the...
forum.xda-developers.com
I'm hoping @Jawomo (dev of aodnotify) will use it to add support for the z Flip3 and future versions of this phone so we can get edge lighting on the exterior screen.

Question Understanding Notifications and Outer Display Orange Dot

On my Flip 3 the outer display orange dot does not show when I have a new phone call or text message notifications (when I open the phone badges show missed calls or messages). I do get the orange dot for missed Gmail mail and some other things.
Do I need to set some setting in order to enable the orange dot for missed calls or messages?
Thanks,
Barry.
Hi,
I did a test and everything working fine for me. Try checking the notification settings for you message and phone app. I guess the orange dot is only showing if notifications are turned on
david.siebauer said:
Hi,
I did a test and everything working fine for me. Try checking the notification settings for you message and phone app. I guess the orange dot is only showing if notifications are turned on
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. That's good to know.
On my phone notifications are turned on for both the default phone app and default messaging app.
For the default phone app, notifications appear to be turned on, but the slide switches are grayed out. I am not able to control those notifications by turning them off or on – the switch is to the right so they appear to be on, but the switch is gray not green.
For the default messaging app, the switch is to the right, it's green, and I can switch notifications off and on – they are currently on.
I have a feeling I might know why I'm not receiving that notification dot. I have that phone number forwarded to Google Voice. If I don't answer, Google Voice picks up and takes a message. Google Voice says something about also handling messages, although I don't know how that works. I receive messages on my phone. Once Google Voice told me I had a new message, but other times no. I don't remember seeing that orange dot when I receive a new message. I will have to test it some more.
Barry.
Phone app showing the same for me. I think these are the default settings.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
I tried to reproduce the behavior for the messages. Only way it does not show the orange dot is by turning off notifications at all or activating DND (without setting exception to show notification while DND mode).
Unfortunately Google voice is not available here, so I can't test it.
David
david.siebauer said:
Phone app showing the same for me. I think these are the default settings.
View attachment 5450869
I tried to reproduce the behavior for the messages. Only way it does not show the orange dot is by turning off notifications at all or activating DND (without setting exception to show notification while DND mode).
Unfortunately Google voice is not available here, so I can't test it.
David
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. That's how my phone app notifications look – buttons grayed out.
I will have to play with this some more.
Barry.
Notifications on this phone are garbage. At least from the standpoint of knowing when you have one without manually turning the exterior screen on.
When you get a notification the exterior screen turns on for like a second and that's it.
They need options..like edge lighting or a simple blinking dot because unless you saw it turn on for that spit second then tough luck. If Someone sent you an important text or email and you didn't see the screen flash on then off you're out of luck.
It's ridiculous. It's lazy and I expect better from a company like Samsung...
I deeply regret buying this phone for just that reason alone..
d0x360 said:
Notifications on this phone are garbage. At least from the standpoint of knowing when you have one without manually turning the exterior screen on.
When you get a notification the exterior screen turns on for like a second and that's it.
They need options..like edge lighting or a simple blinking dot because unless you saw it turn on for that spit second then tough luck. If Someone sent you an important text or email and you didn't see the screen flash on then off you're out of luck.
It's ridiculous. It's lazy and I expect better from a company like Samsung...
I deeply regret buying this phone for just that reason alone..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I partially solved with vibration when i take the phone, if there is a notification not read the phone does a little vibration
mirkol78 said:
I partially solved with vibration when i take the phone, if there is a notification not read the phone does a little vibration
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True but that's fundamentally the same as tapping the exterior screen twice to see if there's a notification dot.
Im hoping the developer of aodnotify @Jawomo can use the code in another thread (located here https://bit.ly/3n0VG5d) that allows you to do things with the exterior display like edge lighting or a blinking dot and plenty more but the first 2 would be helpful for notifications received when you weren't looking at the phone.
I just don't understand why Samsung limited the exterior screen options so much. It seems like such an obvious idea to be able to tweak notification settings for the exterior screen...but Samsung seems to always go half way on their software... Except for their extreme and broken battery saving methods. Like say you don't open your clock app for 3 days... Even if you have an alarm set for day 4 their over aggressive battery software will put the app to sleep and not allot it to run in the background..and your alarm won't go off on day 4. Even if you allow an app to run in the background and disable battery optimization for that app this still happens.
You can sort of disable it so it's less aggressive but looking at the settings you might not know 100% what it's actually doing and your average user probably won't change any of those settings.
I miss the good old time swhen you just had a simple LED Notification light Maybe to simple
david.siebauer said:
I miss the good old time swhen you just had a simple LED Notification light Maybe to simple
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Click to collapse
Me too...me too.
It can't be that hard to implement lol. Even if you use the screen as a fake LED I'd be happy.
Agree notification light is something extremely useful. Last time i 've had it on Mi 9 or Note 9 phone. Rest in piece! Only Xperia offers it nowadays.
Also think Z Flip notifications are great and bad at the same time. You have widgets, you can swipe notifications away, you can read long messages and people can see themselves on that screen. Now with AOD off, you have permanent charging notification which is wonderful. That exactly emulates a white (pulsing) notification light. But with AOD on, situation changes. Charging status is suddenly impossible to read. Oh, the microscopic battery icon, not again. Notifications pop up for a quick period of time. Orange dot sometimes disappears. There should be app icons instead like on normal AOD!
doggydog2 said:
Agree notification light is something extremely useful. Last time i 've had it on Mi 9 or Note 9 phone. Rest in piece! Only Xperia offers it nowadays.
Also think Z Flip notifications are great and bad at the same time. You have widgets, you can swipe notifications away, you can read long messages and people can see themselves on that screen. Now with AOD off, you have permanent charging notification which is wonderful. That exactly emulates a white (pulsing) notification light. But with AOD on, situation changes. Charging status is suddenly impossible to read. Oh, the microscopic battery icon, not again. Notifications pop up for a quick period of time. Orange dot sometimes disappears. There should be app icons instead like on normal AOD!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only widget I find useful is the timer. Swiping notifications away is fine but doesn't really help let me know I have some unless I actively go looking.
Having the charge screen on all the time doesn't appeal to me either, if I want to see it I'll just tap the screen. Ive never liked things staying on all the time, not even the clock but I know plenty of people do so I understand why it's an option.
The orange dot is pretty useless. It disappears if you turn the exterior screen on even if it's just to see the time and you don't touch anything else.
That's why I wish someone would make edge lighting for the exterior screen. The code needed to make it work has been posted but who knows if someone will do it.
Like I said I use aodnotify to basically keep the exterior screen turned on for 2 min when I get any kind of notification. That way I can look over and know. I always have my phone on vibrate and vibration on Samsung phones is so weak. On ever phone I've owned that wasn't Samsung I could hear the vibration from across the room but with the note 9, 10+ and this I can't hear it vibrate when it's a couple feet away.
Samsung... Always going half way when it comes to their software. No idea how they became number 1.
d0x360 said:
Samsung... Always going half way when it comes to their software. No idea how they became number 1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
to be fair, no other brand is close to Samsung software like I moaned here. Several times i returned the phone like Sony, Alcatel because of dead blank OS. Quit OnePlus because of that too. Xiaomi has just a overmodified bloatware and spyware. There's no brand that can compete with Samsung regarding software.
Also it's Samsung that can notify you in a brutal way -- do the edge effect, blink with flash, repeat notifications until you notice.. This creates an explosive cocktail of effects you can't miss. I'd just prolong the notification time, it's really short. But it's the same with other brands!
Avoided 3rd party notif light apps, as they burn battery quick. But i tried aodnotify as it promises something different. It's highly configurable but can't modify the small screen. I have the phone closed 99% of time so it's useless for me But thanks for the tip, i will use in next time, if i ever will have a classic phone.
doggydog2 said:
to be fair, no other brand is close to Samsung software like I moaned here. Several times i returned the phone like Sony, Alcatel because of dead blank OS. Quit OnePlus because of that too. Xiaomi has just a overmodified bloatware and spyware. There's no brand that can compete with Samsung regarding software.
Also it's Samsung that can notify you in a brutal way -- do the edge effect, blink with flash, repeat notifications until you notice.. This creates an explosive cocktail of effects you can't miss. I'd just prolong the notification time, it's really short. But it's the same with other brands!
Avoided 3rd party notif light apps, as they burn battery quick. But i tried aodnotify as it promises something different. It's highly configurable but can't modify the small screen. I have the phone closed 99% of time so it's useless for me But thanks for the tip, i will use in next time, if i ever will have a classic phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait... First off there is no edge lighting on this phone. It's irrelevant if there is on other Samsung phones especially since you can get better edge lighting via aodnotify and it doesn't use much battery at all. Ive used it for years and it's very efficient. In fact I've used plenty of notification apps like one on the original Pixel to give me a blinking LED style notification light that changed color based on app and it barely used any battery either. Plus you can get edge lighting on any phone by using an app. Samsung's own edge lighting is horrible. It lacks granularity in it's settings and features. aodnotify fixes all of that as do tons of other notification apps but aod is the best for edge lighting and the z Flip3.
aodnotify does work with the z Flip3. First if the phone is open (screen on or off) it will provide edge lighting or other effects like fake LED, camera hole light etc. If the phone is closed aodnotify will let you make it so the exterior screen can be set to stay on as long as you want when you get a notification. So it is useful for the z Flip3. I don't know how you missed the settings for always on display but mines set to always off unless a notification is received. Then it's enabled, screen set to stay on for 2 min unless the notification is cleared. Very helpful, especially since Samsung basically has no notification options.
As for Samsung software being good... I completely disagree. Also other companies default software is irrelevant, Samsung makes massive profits every year on phones. They should be able to make decent apps. The majority of them are rated 3 stars or less on the Galaxy store.
It's buggy, it lacks options and features and not only is there a massive amount of bloat, some of it is basically spyware sending everything you do to Samsung. Thankfully I can block that with Adguard.
Googles apps are superior in every way despite the fact that GAPPS is just supposed to be the basic frame work for what these kinda of apps should be. Samsung SHOULD have far superior apps with way more options and better UI's than GAPPS but they don't. Their dialer is super basic, so is contacts. Their messaging app doesn't support RCS and it's ugly. The calendar, calculator...all of it worse then GAPPS.
Then there's their ridiculous changes to battery management. Instead of using what's built into Android they made a custom solution that's beyond overly aggressive.
Let's say you work mon-fri every week but you take Friday off so on Wednesday or Thursday you open the clock app and shut off the alarm for Friday. When Monday comes your alarm won't go off because their battery software has put it to deep sleep even though you set it up so it can run in the background AND you disabled battery optimization for the app. It's ridiculous and actually breaks some apps. It can also cause delays in getting text messages and emails. It can even cause wifi calling to break mid call.
I could go on with tons of in depth issues but I think that's enough for now. I expect better from the #1 mobile phone company. Much better. I've given them 5 chances if you count the galaxy nexus which felt cheaply made but thankfully didn't run Samsung software...
So once a year goes by and the next pixel comes out there's a 99% chance I'll buy it and sell this z Flip3. The only way I wouldn't get a pixel is if Microsoft makes a duo 3 and actually tries or another company makes a really good phone that can also be rooted. Regardless of what I buy there's one thing I know for sure...it won't be made by Samsung
d0x360 said:
Regardless of what I buy there's one thing I know for sure...it won't be made by Samsung
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm back in the Samsung camp because of the software. Been there since SPlus phone (as the era of HTC was ending) with some interruption. I've listed dozens of reasons in the linked post. You want more from this company while you're getting nothing from the others. Samsung is not in the business of Gapps, so it's not fair to mention it, and you shouldn't use such spyware anyway (then why you care about adguard?). I've used Google "phone apps" (caller, calendar, photos) and it was too simple. Who still gives you rich LOCAL music player, who still gives you LOCAL video player (other brands cancelled both). Gallery with post edit, map, s-pen zoom and gestures (Note) is good, no need google Photos. Who gives you best calendar app with nice UI, weather, home timezone, spen preview? I've seen anything comparable to that other than ver geeky apps on the market. Caller which plays recorded calls directly from UI? Lovely. Love the call popup settings that others don't gives you. Who gives you OneUI, 10x richer than other layouts while fast. Onehand mode, or even scroll the screen down basic function of OneUI. The one and only legendary Edge panel that can't be replicated (tried ALL clones). The best AOD, best edge lightning + flash + screen effects (for large screen). Best accessibility options in market period. Best functional camera. You can still say cheeeese to shoot and no other brands can do. You can recognize objects, scan documents or get assistance in shooting situations. And so much more. I'd rate Samsung software ******** while OnePlus ** Sony ** Xiaomi ** LG ** etc. Don't know about Google but i assume it's the same mediocrity (again i don't count their non-phone apps). And i'm heavily debloated, work without Samsung account and still profit from this ecosystem heavily.
Yes they kill apps https://dontkillmyapp.com/ but is perfectly manageable. All you do is choose few core apps and prioritize them, while the most garbage gets killed. This approach is very helpful for battery and OnePlus invented it (that's why they always had nice scores on gsmarena). I moaned first, but now i agree.
Pixel 6 is a horrid phone based on people, and now heavy (that's why i chose ZFlip), let's see next year.
Samsung just pushed AOD app update for ZFlips. I tested the orange dot and it works for all messages and calls. It even blinks. Again, no other firmwares i know incl AOSP offers longer notifications than this. It's always displayed shortly or not at all. Samsung of course has the most configurable AOD and notifications with color highlighting, color match app, bubbles, smart popups. Split app from task manager or Edge panel. It's insane. You can even prolong the AOD notification timeout in the settings or even the toast messages! Here we found the glitch. This setting simply needs to apply on cover screen too and problem solved. Let's wait for another update, i'm sure it will come. It's not like in other brands where phone software stays the same for years.
There's no edge effect on the cover screen (yet!), but that flash makes me jump out of bed. Expecting a major company to produce geeky nice apps like aodnotify is very unrealistic. It won't happen. BTW I still can't make aodnotify work with cover screen. I went through all the settings and it has zero impact there.
I just played with Bixby settings.. you can set action when folded, half folded, unfolded. Stay unlocked when driving. Hundreds of settings. Talking about Samsung not having enough functionality or settings.. oh no, that's so wrong. ZFlip 4 is in my preorder basket.
doggydog2 said:
I'm back in the Samsung camp because of the software. Been there since SPlus phone (as the era of HTC was ending) with some interruption. I've listed dozens of reasons in the linked post. You want more from this company while you're getting nothing from the others. Samsung is not in the business of Gapps, so it's not fair to mention it, and you shouldn't use such spyware anyway (then why you care about adguard?). I've used Google "phone apps" (caller, calendar, photos) and it was too simple. Who still gives you rich LOCAL music player, who still gives you LOCAL video player (other brands cancelled both). Gallery with post edit, map, s-pen zoom and gestures (Note) is good, no need google Photos. Who gives you best calendar app with nice UI, weather, home timezone, spen preview? I've seen anything comparable to that other than ver geeky apps on the market. Caller which plays recorded calls directly from UI? Lovely. Love the call popup settings that others don't gives you. Who gives you OneUI, 10x richer than other layouts while fast. Onehand mode, or even scroll the screen down basic function of OneUI. The one and only legendary Edge panel that can't be replicated (tried ALL clones). The best AOD, best edge lightning + flash + screen effects (for large screen). Best accessibility options in market period. Best functional camera. You can still say cheeeese to shoot and no other brands can do. You can recognize objects, scan documents or get assistance in shooting situations. And so much more. I'd rate Samsung software ******** while OnePlus ** Sony ** Xiaomi ** LG ** etc. Don't know about Google but i assume it's the same mediocrity (again i don't count their non-phone apps). And i'm heavily debloated, work without Samsung account and still profit from this ecosystem heavily.
Yes they kill apps https://dontkillmyapp.com/ but is perfectly manageable. All you do is choose few core apps and prioritize them, while the most garbage gets killed. This approach is very helpful for battery and OnePlus invented it (that's why they always had nice scores on gsmarena). I moaned first, but now i agree.
Pixel 6 is a horrid phone based on people, and now heavy (that's why i chose ZFlip), let's see next year.
Samsung just pushed AOD app update for ZFlips. I tested the orange dot and it works for all messages and calls. It even blinks. Again, no other firmwares i know incl AOSP offers longer notifications than this. It's always displayed shortly or not at all. Samsung of course has the most configurable AOD and notifications with color highlighting, color match app, bubbles, smart popups. Split app from task manager or Edge panel. It's insane. You can even prolong the AOD notification timeout in the settings or even the toast messages! Here we found the glitch. This setting simply needs to apply on cover screen too and problem solved. Let's wait for another update, i'm sure it will come. It's not like in other brands where phone software stays the same for years.
There's no edge effect on the cover screen (yet!), but that flash makes me jump out of bed. Expecting a major company to produce geeky nice apps like aodnotify is very unrealistic. It won't happen. BTW I still can't make aodnotify work with cover screen. I went through all the settings and it has zero impact there.
I just played with Bixby settings.. you can set action when folded, half folded, unfolded. Stay unlocked when driving. Hundreds of settings. Talking about Samsung not having enough functionality or settings.. oh no, that's so wrong. ZFlip 4 is in my preorder basket.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's perfectly fair to compare Samsung's version of GAPPS to Google's.. messaging app vs messaging app. Calendar vs Calendar.
The spyware is a HIDDEN service always running in the background and I care about Adguard because it blocks ads, trackers and analytics in ALL apps and it works as a firewall. Go to adguard.com and look. The play store version is NOT Adguard, it's an extension for 2 browsers.
I got the latest update and no...the exterior screen does not have a blinking dot. When you get a notification the exterior screen turns on for a couple seconds and then shuts off. You can see the dot if you double tap the screen but that's not helpful. I want something to blink when I get a notification without me needing to touch the phone.
I'm glad you like Samsung's apps but I can get better versions of everything they offer. I can use Google apps for my dialer, contacts, messages, calendar, calculator and clock. I use Nova as my launcher because OneUI is too basic. I use Google now via Nova and Google assistant instead of Bixby. Bixby is god awful and once again google does it better.
Yeah you can change some settings for battery management but then you have NO battery management. Also the average person isn't going to know any of this so they will fall victim to apps not working and alarms not going off. That's poor design.
So I can say I think Samsung's software is terrible and you can like it.
I'm too tired to read the rest so I'll do it tomorrow.
d0x360 said:
It's perfectly fair to compare Samsung's version of GAPPS to Google's.. messaging app vs messaging app. Calendar vs Calendar.
The spyware is a HIDDEN service always running in the background and I care about Adguard because it blocks ads, trackers and analytics in ALL apps and it works as a firewall. Go to adguard.com and look. The play store version is NOT Adguard, it's an extension for 2 browsers.
I got the latest update and no...the exterior screen does not have a blinking dot. When you get a notification the exterior screen turns on for a couple seconds and then shuts off. You can see the dot if you double tap the screen but that's not helpful. I want something to blink when I get a notification without me needing to touch the phone.
I'm glad you like Samsung's apps but I can get better versions of everything they offer. I can use Google apps for my dialer, contacts, messages, calendar, calculator and clock. I use Nova as my launcher because OneUI is too basic. I use Google now via Nova and Google assistant instead of Bixby. Bixby is god awful and once again google does it better.
Yeah you can change some settings for battery management but then you have NO battery management. Also the average person isn't going to know any of this so they will fall victim to apps not working and alarms not going off. That's poor design.
So I can say I think Samsung's software is terrible and you can like it.
I'm too tired to read the rest so I'll do it tomorrow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
perhaps i imagine Gapps as Maps etc or the office apps. But let's say it's all Google apps. I've had Pixel ROMs which were based on Google apps you mentioned and didn't notice anything special. Just pure basic. Or forcing to online services. Samsung wins for privacy, i don't like to be tracked so i run those local media players w/o access to internet. I like DLNA, screen mirror stuff. There are no players on other mobiles nowadays and often with DLNA turned off (to force you social networks). Clock - better too, with repetitions until you wake the f*** up. With weather time zones. Calculator - better because it's in Edge panel, super productive. Who else has it? Debloated Bixby - BixbyVision suits me better and I removed Google spyware app completely. Most of it can work offline. Bixby Voice - i don't use such technology until it will be OFFLINE. Bixby routines - fantastic. SmartThings + Audio + Devices on notifpanel - didn't see anything like that before. I can control home devices or cameras from lockscreen! File manager - better, and it connects to web folders and samba (oh my god, thanks). I'm sure Google will give you a chance to connect... to GDrive $$ LOL. Camera better than Gcam as noted. GCam ports = placebo. Camera "AR" very rich and more private than a typical ad-infested apps on market. Samsung Kids - what? Absolutely incredible. And with home screen lock for parents. There's even a general "Pin lock" i again didn't see on the other brands. Samsung Keyboard - very strong even vs GBoard and other brands which provide... nothing. Screen recorder, audio recorder, animation, capture scrolling screen, capture rectangle then extract text - wow. Where are these functions on other brands? I have 5 flagships yearly and I don't recall none of it, maybe i have a short memory And Note series add even more. Smart Stay - great (other brands? hello? Sony has one - kudos!). Edge compass, ruler, torch - so useful. Quick measure - thanks, another adware from appstore spared. Dual messenger - multiple accounts of one chat app? OK! Finder app? don't get my started. There's no competition, forget Sezame. I've spend years searching for an alternative. Is it available from task manager? Yes. Can you drag a window from task manager to a popup or split screen? Yes, and you don't need a stupid tap like on Sony. From Edge panel too. Emergency app on 4 power clicks - thanks (3 clicks = always a mistake). Samsung flow - display Android screen on PC + notifications? Great, no need to pay. Samsung Notes - lengedary. Samsung Pass. Secure folder. Samsung Swich. Samsung Health. Smart View. Tons of notification panel's actionable icons. It just keeps giving. It's insane how much MORE you get with Samsung.
And launcher? Of course I use Nova or similar. But does it mean anyone else got a better one than OneUI? Who? I know: absolutely noone, so why mention it? I don't get the hate. That's the industry standard for vendor launchers - be basic, not to scare the public with overwhelming functionality.
-> Overall, I rate Samsung firmware as 5-10x better than closest competitor. It's a knock out win. This is why I left Xiaomi, OnePlus, Sony, LG and Google, and returned back to the best brand. I was tired of vanilla OS and hated the low investments they make to it. It actually make Samsung cheap.
Re dot - it's there nonstop until you review notifications and it's blinking after an event like missed call. Perhaps you don't have AOD on. Phones w/o notif.light won't provide permanent notification with AOD off it seems. So far the only perma message text displayed on screen i saw was on Garmin watches. 10 letters of most recent notification. Yeah i keep them because of this. I wish it came to mobile phones too. For aesthetic reasons, i don't think it will. Imagine stuffing clock, date, battery, app icon, sender name, text into one small screen. At this point, i just want to prolong the timeout. It's too short.
Re alarms - they're triggered every day. Maybe you're using Naptime to kill it. Kudos to OnePlus to be a rare brand which can turn on the phone to raise alarm. I thought this died with HTC or simple phone era.
Samsung is worse than Google for privacy. They send more data to themselves than Google does.
Thankfully Adguard blocks all that crap.
As for GAPPS v Samsung... They are just as simple ok the Samsung side by with worse UI's. Plus I prefer simple.
If I want something good I'll just get it from the store.
This is definitely my last Samsung phone. I'll probably go with a pixel next but as long as it's hardware is good and it can be rooted then brand isnt as important.
Then I can use whatever rom I want. Back to battery...if you disable Samsung battery functions then you basically cut battery life in half. They seem to have disabled the built in battery saving functions from AOSP so when you shut that insanely aggressive management off...you get nothing.
I would prefer if it worked like my older note used to work. I had ability to just have orange dot notification. Also I was able to set a different color for notifications that came from the "secure folder" apps.

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