Why do Windows Phones users care about Glance so much?

[Windows Central Question]

Why do Windows Phones users care about Glance so much

I hear people lamenting that the Icon doesn't have Glance. I finally turned it on for my 920 and it seems like it only serves to save me from one button press or double-tap on the screen. And then, it drains battery. What am I missing here?

 

[satrus08]

Re: Why do Windows Phones users care about Glance so much

I think it uses less battery then double tap. Someone please confirm?

 

[jmshub]

Re: Why do Windows Phones users care about Glance so much

I leave Glance turned off myself, but I can see it being a big deal for some users. It's about choice, and I can see why it would upset people that the feature isn't available.

 

[psiu_glen]

Re: Why do Windows Phones users care about Glance so much

It's funny, hard reset my 928 maybe a month ago. Had 11+GB locked up in Other Storage.

Finally realized the other day I didn't have any notifications on the screen for Glance (it's not my primary phone anymore, though I use it daily). Turned em on and now I get a detailed Calendar appointment at the top, versus the old version I had which just gave me 5 icons under time before.

Sigh. The cluttered Androidification continues.

I wish my 929 had both Glance and double tap.

 

[awilliams1701]

Re: Why do Windows Phones users care about Glance so much

I have it on my 1520 and don't think its that big of a deal.

 

[P1ng0fDeath]

Re: Why do Windows Phones users care about Glance so much

as i said on another thread:
it's like any other feature, like FFC, flash, capacitive buttons, dedicated camera button, screen size or type etc etc etc. There's always some things you don't want to give up on and some things you just don't care about. Users are very different from each other you know


and i believe there's also the exclusivity factor. it's not available on my device, but i bet it's something nice to impress our android and iOS friends xD when i showed my gf how to double tap to wake my phone she was kinda ''oh... :shocked:'' lol

about the battery drain, apparently LCD screens uses more power than AMOLED ones when it comes to Glance.

 

[Wam1q]

Glance saves a LOT of battery. When you press the lock button/double tap to wake your phone, your processor/GPU becomes active and power your display. With Glance (set to peek mode) you don't have to power the processor and consume battery. Rather you can see the glance screen when the phone is asleep (processor not consuming battery).
Another reason is the hands-free 'peek' feature (air gesture). You don't need to touch the phone to see the glance screen. Just wave your hand above the proximity sensor. Great when your hands are dirty/wet and you can't touch your phone.
Yet another reason is that it doesn't consume a lot of battery even when in 'always on' mode (especially on OLED screens). With an LCD, only a part of the backlight is lit so that you can see the clock+notifications. and with an OLED panel, just those pixels are on which are actually showing something--all black pixels are actually off. Whatever your display is, only a part of it is actually on and consuming battery when using glance (with an OLED, comparatively lesser battery is consumed). This is actually a very nice replacement for a smartwatch. You can see clock/notifications all day long on your phone screen without worrying about battery consumption. Viewing the same on the lock screen will consume a lot of battery, first because of the processor being on and next for the display panel itself being fully powered.

 

[dby2011]

Re: Why do Windows Phones users care about Glance so much

I cared about Glance, thought it was a big deal. Got tired of all the Verizon Cyan fiasco and lack of some apps I needed and got a Galaxy 5. No biggie- didn't miss Glance like I thought I would. As far as such a battery savings- that's hogwash. The processor is always on btw- the time and other info don't magically appear and update by themselves, some processing is neeeded. The cpu is always on. Glance is not a big deal.

 

[Wam1q]

Re: Why do Windows Phones users care about Glance so much

As far as such a battery savings- that's hogwash. The processor is always on btw- the time and other info don't magically appear and update by themselves, some processing is neeeded. The cpu is always on. Glance is not a big deal.

It does NOT consume the same battery as the lock screen. I've tried to compare and see whether glance consumes any more battery than what my phone and its background processes in idle state already do. I have a Lumia 1020. I kept my glance off in the beginning for like one week and when I got home, I had about 40% battery left. The next week, I set glance to always on and kept it on my desk all day long. And again, my battery was roughly ~40% when I got home. And from then on, I've never turned glance off. It is very convenient.
Another thing I'd like to say is that, the processor is asleep and not fully running when glance is active. Waking up the phone wakes up the processor and it consumes more battery. And that's why the display needs a buffer of some sort (which is not present in the Lumia ICON/930) so that the RAM is not powered up. So, only the display buffer stays active and everything else is in sleep mode.

 

[dby2011]

Re: Why do Windows Phones users care about Glance so much

So the display buffer keeps track of the time since the cpu is off? lol The cpu is never off, it may be running slower but not off. The cpu being idle is not off- when your are sitting at a stoplight does that mean your car is off? Since your battery was 40% whether you had Glance on or not I don't see the power savings unless you never turned the display on so see your info when Glance was off. Glance is a cool feature- is it a big deal? Up to you, but advertising this as some huge economical power saver is really not true. I noticed no difference between having glance on or off. .

 

[awilliams1701]

Re: Why do Windows Phones users care about Glance so much

I've had a 928 and an Icon. I HATE OLED. Both phones burned in, in less than a year. Its a terrible and flawed technology. Yes out of the box they look fantastic, but my 1520's LCD display looks fantastic too and I know it won't burn in.

 

[Wam1q]

Re: Why do Windows Phones users care about Glance so much

So the display buffer keeps track of the time since the cpu is off? lol The cpu is never off, it may be running slower but not off. The cpu being idle is not off- when your are sitting at a stoplight does that mean your car is off? Since your battery was 40% whether you had Glance on or not I don't see the power savings unless you never turned the display on so see your info when Glance was off. Glance is a cool feature- is it a big deal? Up to you, but advertising this as some huge economical power saver is really not true. I noticed no difference between having glance on or off. .

The CPU is not off but in sleep mode. And that reduces battery usage. If you take your phone from your pocket to view the time, a glance screen would come up with the processor still asleep and you can view the time/notifications with your screen partially powered and put it back without consuming a lot of battery. If my phone doesn't have glance, I wake up my phone, which wakes up my processor, and my screen is fully powered up, I view the time and then I just put my phone back to sleep. There are a few things here which consume more battery. So yes glance is very economical.

 

[aximtreo]

Re: Why do Windows Phones users care about Glance so much

I cared about Glance, thought it was a big deal. Got tired of all the Verizon Cyan fiasco and lack of some apps I needed and got a Galaxy 5. No biggie- didn't miss Glance like I thought I would. As far as such a battery savings- that's hogwash. The processor is always on btw- the time and other info don't magically appear and update by themselves, some processing is neeeded. The cpu is always on. Glance is not a big deal.

But you have a notification light now, I believe. That's what we have in lieu of the light. Had the 928, loved the glance. Had the ICON, missed the glance. Have the 1520, love me some glance.

Just another bell and whistle that I happen to use.

 

[aximtreo]

Re: Why do Windows Phones users care about Glance so much

I've had a 928 and an Icon. I HATE OLED. Both phones burned in, in less than a year. Its a terrible and flawed technology. Yes out of the box they look fantastic, but my 1520's LCD display looks fantastic too and I know it won't burn in.

Glance moves about the screen when active. Do you think that this still burns in on the 928. I had the 928 for close to a year and did not notice any burn problems at all. I also now have the 1520.3.

 

[Wam1q]

I've had a 928 and an Icon. I HATE OLED. Both phones burned in, in less than a year. Its a terrible and flawed technology. Yes out of the box they look fantastic, but my 1520's LCD display looks fantastic too and I know it won't burn in.

I love OLED screens. I have a 1020 and the screen is fantastic! The fact that glance consumes little battery on OLED screens makes my phone an ideal clock at night/during the day at my desk. LCD's would be consuming a bit more battery here.
About the burn-in thing, I would say just be careful to not have a static image on your screen for long. Keep switching between dark/light background and some favourite colours as accent colours periodically. E.g. I switch between dark/emerald, dark/red, light/cyan, light/orange combinations from time to time. No burn-ins on my 1020.

 

[RumoredNow]

I care about Glance because it brings me the info I need in a readily understandable way and allows me to prioritize when to turn my phone on and when to wait based on the notification being reported. I find it way more clear and informative than a blinking light.

I leave my Glance set to Always On. When the phone is in a pocket the proximity sensor keeps the screen dark. When the phone is not in my pocket I lay it face down, still not lit. Whenever I look at the screen, Glance then gives me info instantly in a clear format.

Time
Day of the week
Date
Alarm Icon lit up if there is a pending alarm
Battery Level graphic with percent #
Next event on my Calendar
Missed Phone Call Icon
Message Icon
eMail account 1
eMail account 2

That's a lot of useful information at a "Glance" without straining my battery.

I simply find Glance to be the most efficient notification tool I've ever had in a smart phone experience and right at the surface without any unnecessary motion, button pushes, actions needed. That's why I value Glance highly.

 

[jmshub]

Re: Why do Windows Phones users care about Glance so much

I had a Samsung Focus for two years and that had an oled with no signs of burn in.

RumoredNow, do you use a screen protector? My wife puts her 920 face down when she's in bed, and she has a lot of screen scratches as a result.

 

[RumoredNow]

Re: Why do Windows Phones users care about Glance so much

I had a Samsung Focus for two years and that had an oled with no signs of burn in.

RumoredNow, do you use a screen protector? My wife puts her 920 face down when she's in bed, and she has a lot of screen scratches as a result.

​I've always used screen protectors. Now I've moved from plastic to Tempered Glass and LOVE it.

 

[AgentSplurge]

I work in an office with my phone on my desk all the time, but always on silent. I'm often on the phone (landline) or checking something on someone elses screen etc, so glance saves me a TON of battery (and a bit of time/effort too I guess) not having to turn the screen on to check if I have missed anything on my phone.

Also saves loads if I'm in a busy place, shopping in town, football match etc. Pull your phone out and literally glance at your screen without having to turn the screen on.

Will *really* miss this feature when I upgrade from 920 to 930 without a doubt.

 

[awilliams1701]

Re: Why do Windows Phones users care about Glance so much

Maybe I have better attention to detail than you or maybe samsung's oled is better than the ones nokia chose. Its VERY subtle on my Icon. Its semi Subtle on my 928. Basically on the Icon in order to notice it, I need a solid color being displayed across the whole screen. You can then see variations across this color. The 928 on the other hand just needs a "calm" image being displayed and you can clearly make out icons from the start screen and xbox music.

I had a Samsung Focus for two years and that had an oled with no signs of burn in.

RumoredNow, do you use a screen protector? My wife puts her 920 face down when she's in bed, and she has a lot of screen scratches as a result.