While the Moto X is not an high-end phone by any standards, it packs quite a few unique features. One such feature is its Active Display that replaces the traditional notification LED. Instead of using a notification LED, the Moto X lights up parts of its OLED display to show any new notification.
A new app on the Play Store – ActiveNotifications – from developer Great Bytes Software aims to bring similar feature to all Android phones. The app is pretty feature-rich and offers quite a bit of customisation options as well.
FEATURES:
* Notifications don’t light up when your phone is in your pocket, purse, or face down to avoid accidental unlocks
* Select which app-notifications you’d like to receive via ActiveNotifications
* “Sleep at night”: Don’t show notifications at night (Premium feature)
* “More privacy”: Hide additional notification details (e.g. SMS text, sender) (Premium feature)
* “Adjust screen brightness”: Select how bright the ActiveNotifications screen should be (Premium feature)
The app will work across all Android devices running Android 4.1.2 or higher, and will make use of the new Notification listener service on Android 4.3 devices for better performance and reliability. However, since the app will light up your display when you receive a new notification, I will strongly recommend readers to use this app if their Android device has an AMOLED screen.
On devices with an LCD screen, the battery drain by using this app will be significant. Even on devices using AMOLED screen, there will be a slight battery drain because of the lack of a dedicated low-power core for contextual computing as seen on the Moto X. If you are fine with a slight hit on the battery life of your Android device, ActiveNotifications is a must-have Android app, especially if your Android device has an AMOLED screen.
