El LG G5 It's one of the devices that will be presented at Mobile World Congress, and therefore, there's a lot of anticipation surrounding what this company's new high-end model will offer, as the event is just around the corner (end of February). Well, one of the new options that will be available on this model has just been officially confirmed: Always ON.
Waiting to know how it is translated into Spanish, if this happens, it has been the company itself that has indicated that this new functionality, which has to do with the combined use of display and notifications, it will be heading on the LG G5. By the way, specifically the phone will be presented on the day February 21, within the framework of the mobility fair that will be held in Barcelona.
And what does Always ON offer? Well, from what has been known is a new screen mode that the LG G5 will offer. With this, you can see the notifications that arrive at the terminal, such as emails or WhatsApp messages, on the panel in a monochrome environment without the device having to be switched on completely (thus saving energy, with an implementation that allows backlighting only the necessary area of ​​the IPS panel). Therefore, we are talking about a functionality similar to that included in the latest Motorola models or the Nexus devices themselves, called in these cases Active Display y Ambient Displayrespectively.
Always ON: what it is and how it works
The idea is simple: the LG G5 screen permanently displays time, date, and notification icons without waking the entire system. The display is minimalist and uses subdued tones to reduce power consumption. LG confirms that its panel 5,3-inch Quad HD IPS Quantum It can keep only the necessary region powered on thanks to a redesigned controller and power management, so the rest of the panel remains inactive.
This solution avoids having to turn on your phone hundreds of times a day just to check the time or for notifications, a habit that, according to various studies, leads to significant battery consumption. In this approach, the G5 aligns itself with other manufacturers: Samsung with its Always On Display on Super AMOLED panels and Motorola with Active Display, although LG implements it on IPS with partial backlighting.
Display technology and energy consumption
One of the major debates surrounding this role is the energyIn Super AMOLED panels, black pixels are turned off, so displaying few elements uses very little power. In IPS panels, the backlighting is usually global, but LG claims to have resolved this drawback. illuminating only the strip where the Always On elements are displayed. According to the brand's data, the expenditure remains around 0,8% battery per hourIn other words, it could keep a clock on screen for about 125 hours if the device wasn't used for anything else.
External tests on devices with AMOLED panels have measured very low figures: in deep sleep close to 0,008% per hour, and with the active mode between 0,59% and 0,65% per hour depending on brightness, with daily savings of around 3%Although the G5's screen technology is different, this data helps to put the order of magnitude into perspective and understand why the function makes sense if it prevents constant power-ups.
LG complements this experience with Daylight ModeThis adjustment instantly increases brightness to improve outdoor visibility, reaching high luminance levels very quickly. The adaptation is automatic and aims to be faster than the eye's natural adjustment.
Configuration and customization
Activating and adjusting the function is simple: go to Settings > Display > Always-on Display and enable the slider. You'll see a preview of what will appear when the phone is locked. On the LG G5, you can choose between showing the time and date or a company personalized; in addition, the following are indicated missed calls and messages using icons.
With software updates like Android 7 Nougat, the G5's Always On added a battery icon Fixed, very useful for checking the battery level without waking the screen. And although the display is more limited than on other manufacturers, the G5 stands out for showing notifications from more apps (Gmail, Telegram, Google+, among others) when these maintain a persistent notification.
If you want to go a step further, you can "pin" permanent notifications so that Always On displays them: utilities like 3G Watchdog Pro (data), Battery Widget Reborn o Battery Notifier BT Free (battery percentage), WhatsApp and weather apps like Weather Underground o Yahoo Weather They allow you to create fixed indicators that the G5 will take advantage of on its always-on display.
Accessories and related uses
LG accompanied this feature with its book-style case Quick Circlewhich leaves a visible front area for checking the time and notifications without opening the lid. There were proposals with circular window and more landscape-oriented variants, reinforcing the usefulness of Always ON by exposing only the necessary area.
For those who prioritize autonomy, the G5 ecosystem added modules such as LG Cam Plus Gripwhich not only improves camera handling, but also increases effective battery life to nearly 4.000 mAhThis is useful if you make intensive use of the always-on panel. In any case, Always On can be manually deactivated when not needed or used in conjunction with usage routines to avoid unnecessary energy consumption overnight.
A different model
The truth is that the LG G5 It will be a device that differs significantly from the high-end devices that the Asian company has previously released, since, for example, everything points to this model being metal finish, in a similar way to that offered by the LG V10, and that fingerprint reader be part of the lineup. Other options could be the inclusion of a dual sensor in the main camera, but this is just a rumor.
As for what the LG G5 is expected to offer in terms of its most important features, everything indicates that it will be the following:
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Screen of 5,3 inches with a quality QHD screen
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Processor Snapdragon 820 from Qualcomm
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3 GB of RAM (some sources mention four)
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Battery 2.800 mAh
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Internal storage of 32 GB with the option to be expanded using microSD cards
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Operating System Android Marshmallow
While waiting for February 21, the truth is that what is known about the LG G5 It's interesting, and the new Always On feature—which is completely official—is just An example of the surprises this company has in store to compete head-to-head in the high-end market. With its combination of low consumption, integration with notificationsoptions customization and accessories, the G5 consolidates a useful experience in everyday life without penalizing autonomy.