Hello !
Here’s a feature I would really appreciate as a user (the kind of very small features that, in large numbers, can make the difference in quality between one OS and another).
The parameter
In the system preferences, in the battery management section, notifications and/or network management:
Airplane mode as soon as possible
If this setting is enabled, when ‘
do not disturb
’ mode is active, the aircraft mode is enabled when the device is in standby and network communications resume as soon as the screen is turned on.
A few years ago (perhaps still today) some manufacturers proposed a setting to disable Wi-Fi when not using the phone, to save battery power. Here it’s the same idea but for all network communications.
Of course, the ‘do not disturb
’ condition means that you only miss calls that you would have missed in any case
If the user wishes to use his phone, the mobile communications restart and finds network while he enters his password. It’s transparent to him. Magic.
Example of concrete use
This feature would be used by people who regularly spend hours with “not to disturb” on, without consulting their phone.
The textbook case - if I may say so - is the student. He spends his days in class, where the phone has no place. During these hours when the device is not consulted, GSM standby represents a significant consumption, which would be avoided with such a feature.
To go further
The search for a network also consumes a significant amount of energy. (Wikipedia)
Therefore, it would be interesting to add some advanced parameters regarding the delays before activating the aircraft mode and switching to the active state of the GSM; while offering an intuitive default functionality that best corresponds to the “non-advanced” user
To go even further, additional conditions could be considered.
For example, a condition possibility for the transition to the active state:
- Enter the password (otherwise the user cannot send anything anyway);
or - Scroll through the notification menu (shows that the user wants to receive notifications just at this moment. This method avoids having to enter the password, or placing a button in the middle of the screen to activate the network connection for searching for notifications).
This example of a condition would prevent network search from occurring when the user is only reading the time, but would make the device less efficient to use because it will only start searching for network and therefore will not be ready for use for a longer period of time.
What do you think of that?
Personally, I think this functionality should be proposed but inactive by default, and thus give a potential of functionality to the new user without destabilizing him because it is naturally up to the OS to adapt to the user and not the other way around.
Once activated, keep it simple: always with the condition of the do not disturb mode, synchronize the aircraft mode with the user’s screen shutdowns.
Then, eventually, add advanced settings so that the experienced user can customize their experience.
Thanks for your feedback,
Côme
French version here