Disappearing Bedside Clock 4+

Backlight trick doesn’t work in ios 13

In portrait mode you are supposed to be able to hold your hand for one second in front if the proximity sensor in order to turn off the backlight. The backlight does go off but only stays off as long as your hand is in front of the proximity sensor. Iphone 8. Tried with vibration sensor turned off, same thing. Otherwise the app is as described. Will update the review if it gets fixed or if I find out that I am using it wrong. I won’t use the all with the backlight on. Edit: I saw and appreciate the developer’s response. The light always comes back on. I have now tried it on an iphone 6 as well. EDIT: Bumped up to 5 stars. I figured out that the proximity sensor is affected by the iphone’s “assistive touch” feature under accessibility settings. When I turn it off, I can completely dim the screen! Edit2: Since IOS 13, the trick to turb off the backlight no longer works

Developer Response ,

It can take a bit of practice to learn the long-proximity gesture, but once you have it mastered, it will quickly become second nature to you. Hold your hand steady in front of the proximity sensor located near the top of the display screen for at least a full second, and then move your hand off to the side your iPhone by moving your hand parallel to the display without touching it. The key is to have the sensor “see your hand” for the full second and then have your hand shift outside of the sensor’s detection area without it sensing your hand reappearing. If you practice in a dark room, you will see the backlight switch off during the long-proximity gesture and not reappear as you move your hand off to the side.

It’s unfortunate that this long-proximity “trick" is currently the only way to turn the LED backlight completely off while DBC is running. Newer iPhones with OLED displays do not have a backlight, so the display goes completely dark on those devices.

EDIT: We have not observed any change to the proximity trick under iOS 13 on the LED iPhone models we use for testing, so we’d like to hear details from anyone observing trick failure on their devices. Recheck that accessibility settings that affect the sensor remain disabled.

Best App I use daily!

I really love this app because I don’t even need a separate unreliable alarm clock anymore! I’m charging my phone on my nightstand anyway, so this is a perfect idea! I love that you can have the display off completely and just tap or wave if you want to see the time ! A plus when I’m suffering from migraines and need total darkness, but still need to know what time it is. I also love that I can choose my own display color! I am a “pink” person, and it made me smile to be able to finally have a pink display on my alarm clock instead of just green or blue all the time! Boring !! I chose the bold font so I can see it better with my crummy eyesight too, lol. It’s honestly like custom designing your own personal alarm clock, and it’s awesome! I have no desire no buy a beside clock again as long as this app stays in business !!

Developer Response ,

Thanks for your kind review. Please email us a screen capture of your favorite DBC display design—we'd love to share it!

We also use DBC nightly, so rest assured that we plan on sticking around... 😀

Best Clock APP Ever

I spent the day reading about different clock apps looking for one that worked to turn the display after you’ve checked the time, If you are like me and any light keeps you awake this is the app for you, you can set it to fade out after a few seconds. A simple tap on the nightstand or wave of the hand brings a display up and will automatically fade out in seconds. It works great with the IOS alarm clock and the developers are great, I had a question about enabling snooze and Dan Corkill answered my email within minutes. This is a must have for anybody who needs a reliable bedside clock that does not keep you awake. I will also use the always on function while getting ready for work in the morning to watch my time when I am moving slow.

Charlie Garrison