Even in the fast-paced world of IT, it can take quite a while for a technology to truly establish itself. A case in point is the “Always-on” feature: it debuted in the Apple Watch at the end of 2019 (Series 5).
However, it’s only now that Always-on, coupled with vibrant AMOLED panels, has made a significant impact on sports watches from other manufacturers like Suunto and Garmin.
Golem.de reached out to manufacturers and one thing became abundantly clear: customers practically refuse any other type of display. The demand predominantly leans toward colorful, high-contrast panels.
For the stylish and sometimes practical appeal, users are willing to compromise on certain drawbacks, such as shorter battery life and decreased visibility in sunlight compared to the passive and power-efficient MIP displays.
Nevertheless, there have been notable improvements in recent months: Even with AMOLED in Always-on mode, many sports watches now offer battery lives of a few days. Additionally, newer panels are considerably more readable in direct sunlight.
However, there’s still uncertainty about a major issue, specifically burn-in, which refers to the permanent imprinting of continuously active pixels. None of the wearables have aged enough for us to gather sufficient experiences on this matter.
Apple mentions that the Ultra 2 employs a highly powerful processor partly to manage potential display errors caused by weakened pixels in the future with a particularly complex pixel-driving mechanism.
It’s doubtful whether other sports watches are prepared for such challenges. Without this potential problem, wearables should ideally last for many years, but with burn-in, the watch faces might lose their visual appeal.
Here are a few tips for display and battery life:
We’ve adopted the habit of using AMOLED sports watches in Always-on mode. This comes with downsides like shorter battery life and a higher risk of burn-in. However, if we have beautiful graphics on our wrist, might as well make the most of it.
What we deactivate is the gesture-based screen deactivation feature. This means we always see a watch face regardless of our hand movements, but not at maximum brightness. That only activates when we press a button or tap the screen.
READ MORE: Former Google Maps Chief Designer Critiques New Design for Readability Issues
