iPhone To Be Always On – Display Ever Ready
Hmmmmm………Uh-oh!…something else to taunt the battery of the lovely iPhone!
Apple has apparently patented a new display technology that will allow their iBlowers to have always-on displays with almost no battery cost whatsoever.
OOoooo, tell me more 🙂
Only part of the display would be activated using a secondary backlight located under the main one.
According to Apple, the objective is to give feedback to the user at all times, even when the main display is turned off:
The primary backlight system may block light from the secondary backlight system except for those one or more regions. Thus, the size and shape of the status indicator may be set by sizing and shaping the transparent or semitransparent regions of the primary backlight system. In addition to setting the size and shape of the icon, the color of the icon may also be set by adjusting the color of the light provided by the secondary backlight system.
For example, each indicator may have a particular color, blinking speed, or light intensity. These properties may be programmed into the electronic device by the user, or may be hard-coded or hard-wired into the system. Thus, when the secondary backlight is turned on, the properties of the light provided by the secondary backlight system may depend on the status of the device. Also, if the status of the electronic device changes while the secondary backlight is on, the properties of the light provided by the secondary backlight system may change to reflect the new status.
To avoid sucking the battery dry the backlight system will be low-power and looking at the diagrams they may not even be actual pixel-based icons but will be ‘cut-outs’ illuminated by individual LED lights shining through the main display.