When OnePlus started their Ideas portal to get direct feedback from their users about what new features to add, the number one suggestion was Always-On Display. The Chinese OEM kept resisting that idea though but users kept on pestering them for it. Now it looks like they’re finally going to give in. Well, at least we now know it’s on their roadmap. Whether the “top IDEA” will make it to their devices though is another question. But for now, it’s something to look forward to.
We don’t know if OnePlus’ tweet that Always-On Display is “on our roadmap” is just they way of appeasing all the requests (demands) for this feature or a tease for an upcoming update. The tweet showed off some of their users’ tweets asking why they are still ignoring the top IDEA that everyone is asking for. They did explain on the forum why it’s taking them some time to respond to this and why they’re doing another round of tests to see if it’s feasible.
The top IDEA is Always-On Display. We hear you, and our OS Product team has replied: it's on our roadmap.
— OnePlus (@oneplus) March 27, 2020
The main reason why they were resistant about this is during their initial round of evaluation and implementation is because of the effect of AOD on the device’s battery life. They discovered that it would take up around 350-500 mAh which means you will lose around 1-2 hours of your daily juice. The battery drainage issue will also have an effect on the device’s performance and so they were hesitant to immediately apply this option.
But OnePlus acknowledges that their users “deserve a voice over the options they have” which apparently includes AOD. And so they are doing another round of “more thorough evaluation”, hence the announcement that it’s on the roadmap. There’s a disclaimer though that it’s not as simple as giving users a toggle but involves a lot of complicated factors and a lot of heavy workload. In other words, don’t expect it anytime soon.
The good news is that they’re currently doing a test with regards to power consumption with a higher refresh rate and if that meets their quality standards, they might place it under OnePlus Laboratory. We’ll keep OnePlus users updated when there’s more news regarding a future AOD option.
