Always on display on the Iconic

[Scottybonner]

The whole reason I have a Surge right now and not a Blaze is because the Surge has a (sort-of) always-on watch face. Pushing a button or wrist flicking is problematic when carrying stuff or when taking a quick glance. Please make this option configurable, so we can choose to take a big hit on battery life in order to get the always-on display option we need.  Thanks.

Update 09/13/2017: Here is the link to the feature request specific to the Ionic - https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Feature-Suggestions/Always-on-display-on-the-Iconic/idi-p/2181208 

[MarioT]

I totally agree

as a watch

the Fitbit iconic is a massive step backwards compared to the surge

i am soo disappointed 

i did try to like it

but continually flicking my wrist in the hope it would light up

sometimes it does & some times it doesn’t

i need firstly a watch then you can build the fancy stuff on top of ut

[MarioT]

I demand an always on feature

otherwise the iconic is useless to me as a watch

lucky I didn’t throw my surge away

[Rich_Laue]

The Surge has an LCD display which does requires an external light to read, but it only requires electricity during the actual writing of data to the screen. After which the screen power is turned off, the ionic requires current to keep the display on. And why most displays like this, including the AW, does not have an always on mode. 

@MarioT did you add your vote to the feature request, demanding of your fellow Fitbit users to offer this request might not be the best course of action .

[MarioT]

Thanks Rich

The SERIOUS problem with the Iconic - that does not have an always on function.

Fitbit could do 2 things.

1. Increase the sensitivity of wake function - so that any slight hand movement; wakes up the watch (the reaction time is too slow);

2. Always on mode option in settings (with dim function or just basic time date only):

I would rather lose 1 day of battery life; than going through the annoying anxiety of eventually getting my watch to wake up

Even though Fitbit corporate have no plans to correct to - such customer feedback is important to ensure they maintain their competitive edge in the market place

[Rich_Laue]

People are already complaining the display lights up to easily, waking them up at night. One person posted that their fitbitFis as bright as daylight .

I find by holding my arm within 40° of parallel then twisting the wrist 90 degrees wakes the watch up about 99% of the time. 

As for battery life, several of the clock faces have an always on option, or try the chronograph face by Fitbit with its quick start always on stopwatch. One person said that they barely got a day with the always on option. 

But seriously iIhaventhaseen a watch from any company with an LED or OILED that has an always on mode. 

[MarioT]

Hi Rich

i think you are right 

getting the watch to wake does take some practuce

you must do it slowish

but I think it should be more reactive, there’s like 1-2sec delay before it comes on

also the slow hand movement makes it work about 90% of the time

so it should be more sensitive

finally you can select a watch with a permanent on time

I found 1

its called ionic funnily enough has the always on feature

thats is a good thing & a must for all watches

it should be an option on all of them

thanks for your reply

[N8teGee]

@MarioT I found certain clock faces made my screen wake become laggy (and overall UI). Once I changed back to a Fitbit one it was responsive again. Was you using a 3rd party clock face when you was experiencing the poor raise to wake performance? 

[Rich_Laue]

---

@MarioT wrote:

it should be an option on all of them

thanks for your reply

---

Do you plan on letting all the other digital watch companies know that an always on watch is a must iIonly know ofione company that makes an OLED watch face with an always on option. No I'm not just talking about exercise trackerstr 

[kathytn]

This is a "Smartwatch" - does your SmartPhone have an always on? With all
the things the watch does, the battery wouldn't last a day the way I use it.

Moderator Edit: Personal Info Removed

[Rich_Laue]

 I agree, my first seven smart phones did not have an always on feature. Since their batteries never lasted more than a day, some would not last a 6 hour work shift. I would not have wanted an always on display. 

Yes @kathytn several have already mentioned that with their Ionic always on they barely get a day. and have to choose to charge over tracking sleep. This however should not be so, since the very small battery should not take more than 2 hours to charge unless it went completly dead. However the ionic should be charged as soon as possible after it gets to 30%. This could mean a need to carry the charger with you. 

[Rlmrpher]

I have the Versa and found several faces with an "Always-On" setting enabled in the clock face settings (accessible through the phone.)  This is a software-enabled feature rather than the watch itself. Some of the developers have included a dim when the screen enters a standby mode.

As mentioned earlier in this thread, finding that feature isn't always easy.  I've found several by searching for the keywords "always" and "standby."  The Beacon is a great example of how this can work for those of us needing a persistent second hand such as in healthcare where you're timing something such as a pulse rate of a patient. 

It's true that wrist wake motion is sufficient for quick glances, but I like to look at my watch discretely at times during a meeting or for a continuous seconds count such as above without having to change settings or switch apps.

I've used a few of the always-on faces available for the Versa and I easily get 24 to 36 hours of use before hitting the charger. For me that's no problem. I set the watch in the charger each night before bed.

I also own Tizen and Wear OS watches and find the always-on displays to be effective with similar battery life.  It really helps to make my smartwatches more of a "watch" for my purposes.

If more face developers would jump on the bandwagon and include that feature setting and a keyword in their description, we can have the choice with our Versa and Ionic devices.

[bsavarin]

I've got a standby or "always-on" option on all my watchfaces.  Just search for BV Designs.

[Rlmrpher]

Thanks! I discovered your designs by searching "always" and "standby". I'm wearing Beacon today and it's worthwhile to me as a paid face. Good work and as mentioned above, the battery life is very reasonable for me.

[bsavarin]

Great!  I'm very happy to hear that you love the design of BEACON!  I saw your post above, but wanted to add mine for the other users in this thread who may not know of the clockfaces out there with that option.

[MarioT]

Many thanks for the detailed reply. I am quite getting used to my Iconic. It has a watch face for all persons and all seasons

[Rlmrpher]

So, I've been exploring the BV Design faces since Always-On is important to me.

BV has been extremely helpful and responded to some email inquiries quickly. 

There are a couple of Always-On methods in the BV faces. The Always On mode will persist at a dimmed mode until you launch another app and back to the face. That's helpful for ensuring best battery life.

A second option on the settings screen is "Low-Light Standby Mode" which dims the face as well, but a simple tap on the screen launches normal brightness for 20 seconds.  Freedom of choice is a great thing! I've purchased Beacon (K-Pay works well) and trying Time & Weather now.

[bsavarin]

Thank you very much for your comments.  Coming from Pebble and being used to an always-on screen, I wanted to add a sort of workaround to get the same features, even though it meant loss of battery life - but this is to be expected of such a bright screen like Fitbit's.

I have just discovered I've added that message in the wrong section of the settings menu, causing confusion.  The screen dims when you choose low-light (also to prevent screen burn) and when you tap the screen it shows normal for 20 seconds and goes dark again.  If your low light is off the display is the same regardless.  I will move that message to the right place in a future update.

[EricRSRCP]

I know you posted this in May, but I am with you. 

I loved my Surge, but I hate this Ionic. It sucks.

What dipstick would want a watch that doesn't display the time without pushing a button or touching it?  ugh

[Rich_Laue]

Anybody that wants a watch to last longer than the Apple watch. and they also do not have an option to leave the display on. In fact very few watched with an LED display have an always on option for this reason. The Surge has an LCD display and uses almost no power to stay on. but needs an external light to read the display and why there is a backlight on it .

[kathytn]

Guess I'm a "dipstick".  I want all the functions and battery life that the Ionic has to offer.  And, you don't need to "push a button" or "tap it" to see the time".  A flick of the wrist will display it you have gone into settings and turned that option on.  If you want to see the time displayed all the time, get a watch, not a smart watch.  Fitbit is a fitness company, this watch centers around fitness stats with time being secondary to many of us.