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0 pointsniklas_a13y ago0 comments

1) Just as it is about to lock the screen it checks if someone is looking. Doesn't matter if it's one or two persons. If you're looking away at that instant it locks. A reasonable compromise that ensures it works more than good enough if you're reading an article. 2) It doesn't power off just because you are not looking at it. You can still use the phone as a flashlight. 3) It doesn't work if you're holding it sideways or cover the camera lens. Don't think this is a problem though - again the feature is directed for situations where you are browsing some content or reading an article. 4) It works if you have glasses 5) It doesn't work in low light situations, also a reasonable compromise.

I think the way you have to see it is that you don't really think about the feature. Sometimes you are reading something and notice the screen isn't dimmed. Sometimes when you're reading the screen dims and you have to touch the screen to have it not go into lock mode.

Having used it in practice for a few weeks I can say it's a great feature. I would expect it to show up on iOS and the core Android distribution.

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shinratdr13y ago

Reading this it occurs to me I've never had an iOS device lock itself while I'm using it for reading or anything else, nor have I even thought about it as a possibility until this very moment.

IMO in that sense iOS already has an equivalent feature. Just don't lock when the user is clearly doing something. Just like how you don't have to shake the mouse to wake your computer while watching a video anymore, most video playback programs/plugins poll the system properly and force it to stay awake.

I don't know if you need to go as far as activating the camera to see if you're still there. What if your lock frequency is set to a minute or two? Wouldn't activating the camera every minute have some affect on battery life?

robmcm13y ago

Ok that makes a lot more sense.

As the guy said HTC don't do a good job of communicating these features, the advert shows a guy falling asleep and as he shuts his eyes the phone locks...

I have never actually had this problem though generally I can read a screen full of text before the phone locks. My scrolling will reset the lock timeout. Videos and games stop the phone from locking.

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