💾 Archived View for dioskouroi.xyz › thread › 25012458 captured on 2020-11-07 at 00:56:40. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
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It always surprises me at how ignored phone LEDs are by both consumers and reviewers. Reviewers barely mention them at all with perhaps a nod to a handset having a dual or triple LED flash.
Yet for myself the flashlight is very important. It's a tool I use if not every day then at least every other, and I want as powerful a light as possible. For instance, I was crushed when my current phone, a OnePlus 6, had a flashlight only 25-50% as powerful as my previous, a Galaxy Note 4. I would pay a premium for a phone with a flagship SoC and a very bright flashlight.
Once you get past a certain brightness, you really need a way to manage the heat output. I don’t think most people want an extra heat sink in their phone add weight and taking up space that could be used for other features or more battery.
If you really need a very bright light, you can find small dedicated flashlights that will do the job much better. But I think, just like with a camera, the tool you use the most is the one you have with you.
The Maglight Mini is the best mini flashlight I've used. I keep it on my key chain, it's a little bigger than a normal key, uses one AAA that lasts months, super bright, and I've used it daily for 2 years.
if it's for photo taking, it only needs to be on very briefly. getting the brightest damned day star you can fit in a tiny package makes plenty of sense.
there are gaming phones like the Lenovo Legion Phone Duel[1] that are designed for thermal management. attach your lighting to those existing radiators & try to shed power that way, & you could probably boast a pretty decent torch.
[1]
https://www.techradar.com/news/lenovo-legion-phone-duel-a-bi...
The main comment for this thread is specifically talking about using the LED as a flashlight. I get that in a short burst you could have something really bright and it wouldn’t be an issue, but for use as a flashlight or video lamp.
Could you make a reader app using the camera? wonder what Hz signal the built-in camera could decode...
Who knew Apple would adopt Tasker before Google did.