Keep Screen Unlocked: ’sodes Feature for Folks Who Don’t Have CarPlay
Keep Screen Unlocked is a handy (optional) feature in ’sodes that keeps play controls accessible at all times. It isn’t a technical marvel by any stretch, but it comes in handy if you:
- Go on long trips or commutes
- Don’t have or can’t use Bluetooth in your car (or don’t have easily-reached Bluetooth controls)
- Don’t have CarPlay, either
- Put your phone in a dashboard mount
- Use a car charger for your phone
It’s not a universal use case, but it’s one that I’ve been in. Once you’ve enabled the feature in Settings.app, all that’s required to trigger the feature is for these three conditions to be met:
- ’sodes is running in the foreground
- ’sodes is playing (not paused)
- Your phone is connected to a charger
Why? Because this keeps ’sodes play controls accessible in a hurry. Without this, your phone’s display will eventually go dark and your screen will lock, requiring you to manipulate your phone before you can tap a pause button, if you can even tap it in iOS’ tiny Now Playing lock screen widget. That latter irrituation is why ’sodes play/pause button is so generously-sized. You can tap it easily even with your arm extended as your car bounces down the highway.
This setting is off by default. And even if you enable it, it will not engage unless all three conditions are met. Otherwise your normal locking behavior will take over.
If you (or someone you like a whole lot) would enjoy a more relaxing way to get into podcasts, please check out ’sodes. It launches February 15th, but is available for pre-order now.