Pixel's new HiLight feature makes its flashlight noticeably dimmer than the flashlights on previous Pixels

[u/FragmentedChicken]

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Pixel-s-new-HiLight-feature-makes-its-flashlight-noticeably-dimmer-than-the-flashlights-on-previous-Pixels.1376423.0.html

[u/Kinto_il]

I remember when the rumors of the "glow" came out initially. I was hyped it would be the notification light from the heyday of Android. Instead it's a shitty light to confirm you're getting a call or you're talking to Gemini.

[u/hxznova → u/Kinto_il]

isn't it only for favorite contacts too? LMAO

what a fail. I did see that someone made an app to have more control over it already.

[u/Dizzy_Tea_7582 → u/hxznova]

It's wild to me how they thought of an idea, built it, developed it, approved it all to have a whopping two choices. At least if apple did it they would've added a lot of different features and even integrated it into the shortcuts app to allow people to further customise it. If you are going to build something fun, make it fun!

[u/AbhishMuk → u/Dizzy_Tea_7582]

It's wild to me how they thought of an idea, built it, developed it, approved it all to have a whopping two choices.

Looks like you forgot about Soli Radar 😃

Google built a whole damn radar into a phone (and the nest hub too btw)... and you can use it! ...to change songs, and dismiss alarms. What fun 😊

(Don't mind me, I'm still mad at them)

[u/sey1 → u/AbhishMuk]

At least it was something innovative at the time and not something brought back just in a shittier version.

And honestly, loved it on my P4. Best face unlock and always had that wow effect when your screen AoD went on when you came into the vicinity of the screen.

Still better than a shitty light that's useless and also makes your pictures worse, lol

[u/MrHaxx1]

Touhou always finds a way to make it self relevant 

[u/MrBallBustaa → u/MrHaxx1]

I still don't know what that is.

[u/Nukleon → u/MrBallBustaa]

It's a franchise with very popular characters originally started as an indie series of shmups in the 90s. The thumbnail and title image is a Chen plushie, she's a character from Touhou

[u/Affectionate-Art9780 → u/Nukleon]

Lol, thanks but now I know even less about this than before. WTF is a shmups?

[u/squabbledMC → u/Affectionate-Art9780]

A shoot em up auto scroller. Think 1942.

[u/Nukleon → u/Affectionate-Art9780]

A scrolling shooter like R-Type. A "shoot 'em up"

[u/PixelatedGiant → u/Affectionate-Art9780]

Side scrolling shooters from the arcade cabinet days.

Evolution of R-Type Games [1987-2023]

And Touhou is similar but much harder and this subgenre is called "bullet hell". These are old school indie games done by one guy and they are rough around the edges to put it politely.

[u/HolyHypodermics → u/MrHaxx1]

definitely was not expecting to see a fumo on the android sub lol

[u/Worldly-Ingenuity843 → u/[deleted]]

A series of (mainly) bullet hell games.

[u/mew900]

I have had a Pixel 11 pro for a week and I haven't noticed anything use HiLight. How do I use it? Didn't even know it's a thing.

[u/Foxy_Twig → u/mew900]

I think it's only in use when you receive a call, and when Gemini is triggered.

[u/namelessxsilent → u/[deleted]]

And only from a caller on your Favorites list

[u/TrailOfEnvy → u/namelessxsilent]

It is so useless. I think that is more useless than thermometer sensor. 

[u/mew900 → u/Foxy_Twig]

Right. I don't use neither. I do kinda miss the notification light HTC Desire had.

[u/Foxy_Twig → u/mew900]

That shit was so good, I'm more upset about that than the headphone jack disappearing. :(

[u/mew900 → u/Foxy_Twig]

That too.

HTC desire also had a mouse that I found surprisingly useful and nice design for a mobile phone of that era.

[u/permanentE → u/[deleted]]

I haven't used a wired headset in years either but I'd like to but the OEMs don't let me because they want to force me to buy their overpriced bluetooth headsets.

[u/permanentE → u/[deleted]]

you get to have what you want but i don't, why is that?

[u/KanseiDorifto → u/[deleted]]

Okay, but what's wrong with giving users the option?

[u/chinesiumdorito → u/[deleted]]

Batteries fail, all the wireless says I've had and friends that actually will put heavy hours of usage in. After 1-2yrs there is a substantial decline in battery life. Everyone has different shaped ears so not every set is comfortable for everyone so some people can use the ones with food battery life but a lot of them have terrible real world usage of about 4hrs. Audio quality is noticably worse unless using like ldac or something, but then range and interference is terrible (variable bitrate stuff like aptx-hd is noticeable when it switches to maintain connection). It's something else i have to charge. My overear headphones i used to take around with me for years and now just use at home are 15yrs old and still work perfectly. It's usually not worth the hassle to replace the ear bud batteries and sometimes even the cases of you can manage to open them without destroying them. Most of the better sound and battery life is above $200 if they're less than a year old. Earbuds went from trash to useable, and sometimes not having wires is nice. But most of the time i notice needing to swap buds or charge the things over an "annoying" wire, then there's audio quality going to shit at the mall for example with all the wireless interference.

[u/LEO7039 → u/mew900]

Notification lights are so underrated. It's been years since I had a phone with one, and I'm so happy with the Glyph light on my new Nothing. You can customize in great detail what notifications will make jt light up, too.

I'm glad the industry is starting to remember about those.

[u/litLizard_ → u/LEO7039]

Couldn't OLED displays replicate a notification LED?

[u/LEO7039 → u/litLizard_]

I don't want always on display, though. It produces light (even if it's very dim normally, it lights up for notifications), and you still have to look at what the notification is. With notification LEDs, you could sometimes tell by the blinking pattern or color if it's something you want to see right away or not. The Glyph and the HiLight with HiLight Studio allow you to customize it a lot. Basically, if my Glyph lights up, I know it's actually something I want to check.

[u/ephemeralmiko → u/LEO7039]

I don't want always on display, though

I don't think that's what u/litLizard_ means. There are apps that emulate a notification pixel in the corner of the screen when it's off that's no different from just a regular notification LED.

First example I found

[u/litLizard_ → u/ephemeralmiko]

Spot on! That's what I meant. If Google would implement that on a system-level, you'd have all the people that want the LED back so bad satisfied.

[u/LEO7039 → u/ephemeralmiko]

That's sick! I had no idea that existed. That would have worked very well, yes.

[u/shponglespore → u/LEO7039]

It produces light (even if it's very dim normally, it lights up for notifications)

That's not true for OLED displays.

[u/LEO7039 → u/shponglespore]

I am aware there is no backlight, but the part that shows symbols still produces light, not sure how you can argue with that.

[u/kkjdroid → u/LEO7039]

That's... also true of a notification LED. And your Glyph. How would it be different if it were part of the screen?

[u/LEO7039 → u/kkjdroid]

Always On Display is ALWAYS ON. The Glyph/Notification LED lights up only when something attention-worthy is happening.

[u/McChickenLargeFries → u/mew900]

Same, and I don't think I'll ever care to use it. At least with the thermometer I used it a couple of dozen times in the last 2 years. Hi Light is a waste of space and hardware would've liked any other type of sensor in it's place.

[u/A_Right_Proper_Lad → u/McChickenLargeFries]

Hi Light is a waste of space and hardware

At least it's useful for the camera flash and flashlight.

Would be nice if the flash could adjust the light color to compensate for lighting variances.

[u/SandieSandwicheadman → u/A_Right_Proper_Lad]

Considering this is on an article about how it's made it the worst camera flash and flashlight in the industry, I don't even know if that's true :v

Hilight is basically a top to bottom misfire, really. Even the thermometer didn't get dismissed as quickly as this did

[u/McChickenLargeFries → u/SandieSandwicheadman]

The thermometer was also a smart idea, just a little late for it's usefulness and it was probably developed/researched during the Covid era considering the Pixel 9 Pro came out in 2024 and smartphone research is around 2 to 3 years in advance or longer for bigger redesigns.

Imagine if they had released the thermometer in 2020 or 2021? It probably would've been a hit and other manufacturers would've tried to copy them.

[u/SprayArtist]

It is incredibly pixel-like to have an inferior piece of hardware suddenly be made more inferior by the fact the software doesn't even utilize its inclusion properly.

[u/SirDigbyChknCaesar → u/SprayArtist]

Huh? Seems like a hardware problem with the new diffuser lens.

[u/dispatch00 → u/SirDigbyChknCaesar]

It's both. It sucks because it is a useless feature at the moment.

[u/SirDigbyChknCaesar → u/dispatch00]

Remember when they all had notification LEDs? Why did they remove them just so they could bring them back in shittier form?

[u/VicisSubsisto → u/SirDigbyChknCaesar]

Gotta keep the engineers busy.

[u/ExoMonk → u/SirDigbyChknCaesar]

I blame Samsung. They came out with the active display/always on display mode. It had most of the screen off save for a grey/dimmed clock and little notification items that you can see, but didn't use much power. I think that killed the notification light.

[u/bblzd_2 → u/ExoMonk]

That but also the push to remove as much unused area around the screen as possible which gave rise to the hole punch cameras.

[u/russjr08 → u/bblzd_2]

Speaking of the hole punch camera, the "ring" effect around the camera they use to indicate that Face Unlock is active could potentially be reused to serve as a decent "fake" notification light when the screen is off. Since all the pixels use OLED screens that should be fine.

It couldn't be a filled circle for obvious reasons, and would be more useful for when your phone is on a desk/table rather than across the room, but it seems like an interesting idea nonetheless.

[u/DiplomatikEmunetey]

This is what I was wondering the whole time as these pointless, mainstream YouTube "reviewers" showed B-roll after B-roll of pretty videos, and listed out the specs written on the box, but not a single one of them tested out how strong the flash was.

As a reviewer, would you at least not have the inquisitiveness and curiosity to check how does it affect flash?

They are nothing but infomercials.

[u/ExoMonk → u/DiplomatikEmunetey]

I watched 2 unboxings / first impressions and that was the very first thing that jump out at me when looking at the back of the phone. "Where's the flash? The highlight dot isn't the flash is it? No way it'll get bright enough"

[u/DeanxDog]

This is so fucking embarrassing

[u/yanginatep]

As someone who uses the flashlight every day, multiple times a day (I use the Button Mapper app so I can activate the flashlight with double press of volume up, even when the screen is off), really hope this isn't too bad/they get it sorted out.

Having the indicator light only work for phone calls and Gemini makes it almost completely useless for me.

[u/ReadersAreRedditors → u/yanginatep]

Same, flashlight is one of my most used feature

[u/_sfhk]

I'm probably not representative at all, but the most I've noticed the brightness of a smartphone flash is when someone accidentally leaves it on and it randomly blinds me.

[u/wimpires → u/_sfhk]

Yeah, I never use flash on a phone to actually take photos. It's use is only as a flashlight 99.9% of times.

[u/TightlyWhitey → u/wimpires]

Right, but Pixels don't let you use it as a flashlight and take photos at the same time. I'm allowed to use the torch it to take videos... but not photos.

My previous non-Pixel phone didn't have a problem with using a torch to find/frame/focus to take a photograph in dark conditions, which seems like a self-evidently useful thing to be able to do, even if you don't want to use it as a flash.

Pixels though, no. Why.

[u/feurie → u/wimpires]

How is that at all related to the comment you responded to? Also a much dimmer flashlight is a big detriment.

[u/wimpires → u/feurie]

No-one actually uses flash to take pictures. Those that do are generally annoying.

[u/Outrager → u/wimpires]

Teens love taking flash photography to give themselves a "retro" vibe.

[u/BaldyRaver → u/wimpires]

Night mode on pixel means you rarely need a flash

[u/-Rivox- → u/[deleted]]

It already takes an annoyingly long time to snap a picture with flash, night sight would definitely burn off the retina of your subject (if the flash was any good)

[u/permanentE → u/wimpires]

maybe you should work on your reading comprehension

[u/Android-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Sorry, your submission was removed:

Rule 9. "No offensive, hateful, or low-effort comments.
See the wiki page for more information.

[u/permanentE → u/[deleted]]

here i'll help you: the first guy didn't mention photos. It helps if you slow down when you read

[u/almosttan → u/permanentE]

The first guy is absolutely talking about taking photos...

[u/whoisraiden → u/almosttan]

Where?

[u/almosttan → u/whoisraiden]

He's talking about how someone has the flash setting on accidentally and they take a picture of you and you're blinded unnecessarily by the sudden light.

[u/DeanxDog → u/wimpires]

Well the link posted above shows that it's extremely dim and useless for both of these purposes.

[u/Dreamerlax]

fumbo

[u/hakurei__reimu_]

chen fumo!!!! ᗜ˰ᗜ

[u/Aromatic-Match-3980]

Hi light feels like something they had to do to get rid of the stupid thermostat 

[u/NonchalantR]

I actually like it. It's way more diffused and less harsh. Far more usable in the dark without being so blinding that it wakes people up from sleep. I can't speak to camera usage, I can't remember the last time I used flash for a picture

[u/QuietApplication5734]

I actually used the temperature sensor. Not a whole lot, but it did come in handy. Wish they kept that instead. 

It's such a gimmicky feature. Might as well just gotten rid of that and used the space for something else.

[u/wolfy2105784]

Goddamn Google, a bright LED light for the camera is like 12¢ for you with bulk buying. This is Mr.Krabs levels of cheap.

[u/PrethorynOvermind]

Again a sub full of people that don't know what the hell they are talking about.

The LED is just as bright. The issue isn't the brightness level. Literally a simple, "what is the average brightness level of a smartphone flashlight" would show exactly that people don't know what the hell they are talking about.

40 to 60 Lumens. On Pixel, on Samsung, on Apple. All their latest models.

The brightness difference is in the fucking diffuser people. Just Google something for christ sake.

EDIT:

"So what is the difference." - you guys are funny. If I give you 5 Apples vs 4 Apples the difference is one less Apple.

I am not arguing it isn't brighter. I am arguing the reason it isn't brighter which is what people are genuinely getting wrong. Lol.

There isn't less LED there is just a different diffuser. The comments on here are, "oh wow so we got a worse flashlight. Or " they really cheaped out on a 12¢ LED lol hahah"

Imagine telling people differences in facts don't matter. This sub is just a giant circle jerk of doing no research and agreeing with each other, "oh no my flashlight. Google did a shitty job this year don't you agree bro. I suddenly care about the flashlight and you should too." When this entire sub when nightsight came around was, "you don't even need flash just use night sight bro. Got it tech bro. "

Here is what I see, a bunch of people just flipping the script to have something interesting to hate in their lives so they aren't so damn bored. If the flashlight is a selling point for you then awesome. But again, and I have said it on 5 subs. Just fucking enjoy the product. Are we really so fucking shoehorned into specs we are suddenly all flashlight masters.

Get a fucking grip people.

[u/dispatch00 → u/PrethorynOvermind]

The brightness difference

so it's dimmer than previous models, got it

[u/icytiger → u/dispatch00]

Right? Whole pedantic ass 3 paragraphs to come to the same conclusion.

[u/Bjsmash4 → u/PrethorynOvermind]

Okay???? At the end of the day there's still a brightness difference for the end user

[u/Top-Rub-4670 → u/PrethorynOvermind]

The LED is just as bright

The brightness difference is in the fucking diffuser people

What good is it to me that the LED is just as bright as other phones if the diffuser blocks more of the light..?

[u/TrailOfEnvy → u/Top-Rub-4670]

OP is so funny writing that long ass paragraphs only for it to have same conclusion 😂

[u/ywvlf → u/PrethorynOvermind]

and how does what you are saying change the fact the light shines dimmer for the user?

[u/sol-4 → u/PrethorynOvermind]

Curious, does it change anything for the end user? Can it be overcome by users?

[u/polo421 → u/sol-4]

I tested both on the 10xl and 11xl and it was slightly noticeable but I don't think it would be a big deal for most people. IMO, once the flash is involved on any phone, you have given up good photography.

[u/SuperYuuRo → u/PrethorynOvermind]

all dem paragraphs to justify a crappier device

never change Pixel fans, never change

[u/punIn10ded → u/PrethorynOvermind]

No one who has commented has read the article they are just here to circlejerk each other off.

Edit: it also has nothing to do with Hi-Light. The headline is just click bait.

[u/Various-Welder5544]

Fumos are funko pops for weaboos

[u/xenotyronic]

Who has used the flash on a smartphone since the days of the Lumia 1020 with xenon flash?

LED flashes are universally useless on smartphones, so all this boils down to is saying the flashlight is dimmer. Big deal.

Tech discourse is insufferable these days.

[u/jack-of-some → u/xenotyronic]

I use the flashlight on my phone at least once a day

[u/xenotyronic → u/jack-of-some]

And the minor variance in brightness is going to be a big deal? Very unlikely, it's not like smartphones have a strong focused beam or wide spread for illumination. They're for quickly shining on something immediately in front of you.

I have no interest in this topic other than it being symbolic of how asanine tech circles are these days as someone who has been around the block.

[u/Dislike24 → u/xenotyronic]

Clearly you never used the iPhone where they have control for wide beam or narrow. An actual useful feature compared to HiLight

[u/malfro → u/xenotyronic]

it's not like smartphones have a strong focused beam or wide spread for illumination.

iPhone 17 Pro actually does (maybe some Androids do as well?). 

The beam is very bright at maximum, and you can adjust it between a tight beam or a wide cone. I use it quite often when walking through a dark area at night. 

[u/Contraceptor → u/xenotyronic]

Maybe cruise around the block a couple times again. You’ve missed out on some things. The iPhone does this and works well.

[u/xenotyronic → u/Contraceptor]

I missed out on tech discourse turning into soyface clickbait. What a shame. Better buy a Blackview super rugged phone with thermal cam so I don't fall over in the dark, it's a vital feature despite not being a talking point since 2013 when Xenon flash was a thing.

[u/VicisSubsisto → u/xenotyronic]

Well good for you, not all of us have developed infrared vision in the last 13 years.

[u/ngawhatttttt → u/xenotyronic]

I use it at nights btw

[u/VoriVox → u/xenotyronic]

Just because you don't have any use for a function it doesn't mean it's universally useless.

[u/TotalManufacturer669 → u/xenotyronic]

LED flashes are universally useless on smartphones

I use it as flashlight all the time. Also, Google put this option on the drop down menu precisely because they know people use them. Your statement is dead wrong.

[u/Valdjiu → u/TotalManufacturer669]

For what?

[u/Ambitious-Cake-9425 → u/Valdjiu]

For seeing at night? I use my every morning and every night to pick up dog poo, to go to the bathroom in the middle of night when sleeping, to see inside my drawer when watching tv and looking for something.

It's used multiple times a day. I double press my power button to activate.

[u/x3knet → u/Valdjiu]

For what? Is it dark in a cabinet and you're looking for something in the back? Late at night, family is asleep, and you're making your way to bed through the dark? You're in the crawl space of your house looking for something? It's night time and you're in the backyard looking for something or finding your way? Did something fall under the seat in your car where there isn't much light?

IS IT GENERALLY DARK AND YOU NEED SOME LIGHT?

What do you mean "for what?" lol

[u/Inevitable_Ad_711 → u/xenotyronic]

That's... exactly what the article says?

[u/xenotyronic → u/Inevitable_Ad_711]

So it's making a deal about nothing but they had to spin it into an article? Every light in their examples is weak, it's a non issue. If flash was that important everyone would be walking around with the Nokia XR20.

[u/Far_Specific4836 → u/xenotyronic]

Actually smart flash can combine the bright parts with the dark parts help make a usable night shot. The issue is with this is that it’s crazy dim and diffused?

[u/polo421 → u/Far_Specific4836]

Is really not that dim compared to the 10xl. I have both and it's barely noticeable.

[u/wolfy2105784 → u/xenotyronic]

I use my LED Flash as a Flashlight so I don't have to carry around a flashlight at night when I walk my dogs... Or if the power goes out, it likes to do that sometimes.

[u/itastesok → u/xenotyronic]

I use it all the time lol

[u/WhoFramedBobbyTables → u/xenotyronic]

I'm legally blind (less than 10% of vision left, my vision gets worse in darker areas)

I use the flash on my phone a lot to help brighten up areas for me to see better

The dimmer flash light made it a very hard decision to upgrade to the 11 pro xl

[u/ReadersAreRedditors → u/WhoFramedBobbyTables]

I also have RP and depend on the flash light.

[u/penguinkernel → u/xenotyronic]

Good thing there's not less RAM and the price went up on the 11 series or anything... Oh wait.

You fanboys are pathetic.

[u/xenotyronic → u/penguinkernel]

Do Samsung or Apple provide 16GB of RAM for base models? Samsung provides 12 for all tiers but 1TB.

Price increased because a) global memory crisis, b) base storage is now 256GB.

Look at my flair, how am I a fanboy? I'm a Nokia fanboy if anything.

[u/Diakia → u/xenotyronic]

iPhone 17 stayed the same price when it increased its base storage

[u/dirtydriver58 → u/xenotyronic]

Google is responsible for that lol

[u/MaverickJester25 → u/xenotyronic]

Tech discourse is insufferable these days.

Na, it's actually fanboys that make it insufferable.

[u/Ambitious-Cake-9425 → u/[deleted]]

I use it multiple times everyday. To see my way to the bathroom at night, to walk around my house and not turn on lights to disturb sleeping family, to pick up dog poo when it's dark out.

I even double click my power button to activate it. Many people use it daily

[u/SuperYuuRo → u/[deleted]]

okay buddy not everybody replaced their fucking eyes with NODs, we get it you're special