'Always On Display' on Venu 3

In Settings>System>display, you'll probably see a setting for General Use and During Activites, where you can set AOD for one or both.  With a CIQ watch face, there are rules about how many pixels can be on when in low power mode, etc. Only watch faces have a low power mode.

Thanks Jim.

I guess this would mean that setting AOD mode on the watch only has an effect for watchfaces which have programmed to follow the rules for low powered mode. Other watchfaces would simply turn black after timeout (without dimming)?

Also, how would an app (in contrast to watchface) behave in AOD mode, given that there is no 'low powered mode' for apps? 

But what happens to to the screen for native / CIQ apps if I turn ON "AOD during general use"?

Will the screen go black after the timeout period? Or will it dim?

Have you simply tried it?  With General Use and a watch face, if AOD is off, the screen goes black.  If AOD is on, it depends on the watch face.  In CIQ that means things like how many pixels are on.  There's a max of 10%

See https://developer.garmin.com/connect-iq/connect-iq-faq/how-do-i-make-a-watch-face-for-amoled-products/#howdoimakeawatchfaceforamoledproducts

Avoima said:

How does the 'Always On Display' feature of Venu 3 work?
From what I have seen in videos,

Avoima said:

But what happens to to the screen for native / CIQ apps if I turn ON "AOD during general use"?

Will the screen go black after the timeout period? Or will it dim?

jim_m_58 said:

Have you simply tried it? 

If you read between the lines, OP doesn't own a Venu 3 (or other Garmin AMOLED device) to try.

My understanding is that for AMOLED Garmins (I don't own one), native apps will dim after the timeout period, in Always On Display Mode. Additionally, native apps on AMOLED devices are known to shift pixels to prevent burn in.

I think CIQ apps are like native apps in the sense they only go dim (no black) during AOD mode, but I could be wrong.

It's not like Apple Watch, where 3rd party devs have to write their apps in a specific way to take advantage of AOD mode. (Of course, Apple Watch is also different in the sense that there are no 3rd-party watchfaces.)

FlowState said:

My understanding is that for AMOLED Garmins (I don't own one), native apps will dim after the timeout period, in Always On Display Mode. Additionally, native apps on AMOLED devices are known to shift pixels to prevent burn in.

If AOD is on "during activities', a CIQ Activity will also dim after a certain time, just like a native activity, for at least the current generation with the latest displays.

And this isn't just a "burn-in thing" but also is a battery thing.  Unlike a MIP display, if a pixel is on, it's using battery.  That's why in a watch face in low prover mode, you are limited to 10% of the pixels being on at the same time.

With AOD on for general use, that can cut my battery life in half with no other changes with both native or CIQ watch faces.

Thanks FlowState,

You are correct: I don't own a Venu 3. I am considering buying one, but I don't like the AMOLED display going black after timeout. From some videos it seemed to me that AOD (for 'general usage') on Venu 3 dims the display after timeout and that the display remains dimmed. I'd like something like this (though it is clear that this would result in increased battery usage and maybe in 'burn-in' problems). But it wasn't clear for me under what circumstances this 'dimming' while in AOD can occur.

The whole thing seems pretty complex, with a number of variables:

1. 'during activities' vs. 'during general usage'
2. Apps vs. watchfaces
3. Native vs. CIQ
4. Display 'dimming' vs. 'going black'
5. 'burn-in', 'increased battery usage' or both

In addition, it is not clear for me what I, as a developer, should do to achieve such a 'dimming', both for watch faces and for apps. The low power requirements for watch faces (10%, shifting of active pixels, etc) are clear for me, but are these the ones to result in 'dimming', if adhered to? Furthermore, apps don't have low powered mode - so how to achieve 'dimming' for them in AOD? Or is 'dimming' done automatically, by the watch, simply by decreasing the luminosity of pixels?