Ask HN: Why does no one need an increasing ringtone volume on an iPhone anymore?

[red369]

There was a time when there seemed to be quite a few requests for/complaints about iPhones not having an option for gradually increasing the ringtone volume when a calls is incoming.

I realise it must never have been a priority feature for Apple to implement, but I’m curious about why it seems that no one cares that it is missing anymore.

Does no one find it useful anymore? Perhaps because it is more acceptable to have a phone ring in many situations now. Perhaps the people who cared bought Apple Watches. Do people still want it, but internet searches favour the old questions/complaints?

Unimportant, but I’m curious.

[itake]

I don’t even use my phone for phone calls any more. I keep my phone on silent.

[kube-system]

Because this is how people "answer" phone calls these days: https://support.apple.com/en-us/105066

[swah]

Same, and so much cope from iOS users on those features. They'll argue something like "I love sleeping with an Apple Watch so that the alarm is less jarring". But a few lines of code and the thing could work for everyone: start w/ silent screen flash/vibration, wait 3 seconds, subtle beep, wait 3 seconds, regular ringing/alarm starts...

You wouldn't even have to turn it off in the movies...

[meristohm]

I like the idea of increasing volume for a call, for the same reason I set my wake-up alarm low or with music that starts low; I don't like sudden loud sounds but I also don't want to miss certain calls or not wake up in time to help my child get ready for school.

[lofaszvanitt]

Yeah, why can't you also set the phone to vibrate or emit some sound every X minutes when you missed a call? There are times I don't check the phone for days, because it just sits on the table telling me nothing.

[red369 → lofaszvanitt]

Yes - it is an interesting decision that you can set repeat notifications for messages, but not for a phone call, which is usually considered more urgent.

Wow! Did you know that you can now choose to set repeat notifications for messages up to ten times? Still only the option of two minute intervals, but I missed that update. May have been with iOS 16.

Edit: and it probably goes without saying that I miss notification lights from the few phones I’ve had which had that feature.

[lofaszvanitt → red369]

Now I have to check that.

[Sevii → lofaszvanitt]

Not checking your phone for days likely makes you an extreme outlier. Most people are checking their smartphone every 10 minutes or so.

[lofaszvanitt → Sevii]

Yeah, I let the oppressor device suffer.