what is it and how to activate it on any Android mobile

Normally when the mobile is “at rest”, the screen remains off, but it is more and more common for Android mobiles to include Always on display o AOD, which allows the screen to show basic information, such as the time.

We are telling you today what this Always On Display mode is available on some Android mobiles, which is good – and bad – and how can you have it on your mobile, with several methods that should be used for the vast majority of mobiles.

Que es Always On Display o AOD

Always On Display is a system whereby the mobile screen is always on, showing basic information such as time, date and notifications. When the mobile goes to “standby”, instead of turning off the screen, it becomes a sort of clock. This feature was already available in 2010 on Nokia mobiles with Symbian.

The Always On Display mode takes advantage of a feature of OLED screens that allows energy consumption is reduced

despite keeping the screen on. It’s the same principle that saves the battery in dark mode: the black pixels are completely off. The LCD panels keep the backlight on regardless of the pixel color, so those black pixels continue to consume power.

By virtue of this premise, Always On mode typically uses minimalist elements to display the time and various information without “turning on” too many pixels. Usually black and white, although color quickly found its way to AOD screens. The power consumption is low, but it is still there, for this reason, some mobiles allow you to configure the AOD mode to activate at certain times, when a notification arrives or when you pick up the mobile.

How to activate AOD mode

The bad news is always-on display not a standard Android function and, therefore, it is not available on all mobiles. This is understandable, because cell phones with an LCD screen will consume excessive battery power by keeping the screen always on.

The good news is that there is different ways to have Always On Display mode on your mobile, whether or not the mobile includes the option. It is even possible to use it, at your own risk, on a mobile phone with an LCD screen.

From mobile settings

If you want to activate the Always On Display mode of a mobile, the best thing that can happen is that the mobile includes the function. It’s today fairly common in most layers of customization

, on mobile with OLED or AMOLED screens, although the setting can change its name and location in the settings.

On Samsung mobiles, the Always On settings can be found in Lock screen, while in OxygenOS they are in the display settings, under the name of Ambient display. Usually the setting is or on screen or on lock, but if you can’t find it, it’s best to use the search engine at the top of the settings. From there you can usually choose whether you want it to be always on or under certain conditions (at a certain point when you pick up the phone …)

Be careful, because sometimes the customization of Always On mode it can be in another menu. That is, the section where you choose the design of the clock and the rest of the elements that are displayed in Always On mode. In store mobiles like Samsung mobiles, you can download more designs from it. In others, the options can be found in the section on Customization.

Google Assistant ambient mode

Your mobile does not have Always On mode ready to use? In this case, you still have a way to have something similar without having to install anything else: with the Google Assistant ambient mode, a novelty that has gone a little unnoticed despite our presence for a few years.

On compatible mobiles, enter the parameters of the Google application> Assistant> Ambient mode, you can turn on Ambient Mode, which keeps the screen on with information like the time, notifications, and charging progress, and can even double as a digital photo frame with your photos from Google Photos. The big downside is that It only activates when the mobile is charging.

With applications

If none of the above resolves the ballot, you will still have the third-party apps. You will find in Google Play a good collection of applications to simulate the Always On screen, ideally with OLED screens, although nothing prevents you from using them on any mobile.

Usually the power consumption of Always On mode of the mobile it will be better optimized than that of third-party applications, so this option is more recommended when none of the above solutions worked.