Default alarm behavior can cause unnecessary battery drain

[Charles Kerr]

As discussed in private bug #1430666, the default alarm ring duration of 30 minutes is really long compared to other phones. This got called out because it will cause unnecessary screen-on battery drain.

IMO 30 minutes should not be the default option -- if a user doesn't dismiss after 10 minutes, adding another 20 feels like overkill.

In addition, datetime (rightly) turns the screen on when an alarm triggers. It's kept on for the duration of the alarm, even if it rings for a half hour. That's a pretty long screen-on time to pay when the user's inactive.

1. <http://goo.gl/onnFLb>: "‘Stop ringing after’ controls how long the timer rings. It is set by default to 10 minutes and can be changed with the expansion component"

2. Datetime should release its "screen on" hold after the first few minutes, so that even long-ringing alarms don't drain more battery than necessary.

[Matthew Paul Thomas (mpt)]

Giorgio is no longer with us, and the clock spec is currently unmaintained. In the meantime:

1. I think you're on safe ground changing the alarm from 30 minutes to 10 minutes. I've requested access to the spec to update it accordingly.

2. I don't see any mention of a "'screen on' hold". What I do see is: "When phone is locked, the display will wake up for the default time it usually does when pressing the power button." So:
* 0 s: alarm goes off, screen wakes up, shows special version of lock screen
* 30 s(?): screen dims, just like it would if you'd woken it up yourself
* 60 s(?): screen goes back to sleep, just like it would if you'd woken it up yourself
* 600 s: alarm stops playing

[Matthew Paul Thomas (mpt)]

Specification updated.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

This bug was fixed in the package indicator-datetime - 13.10.0+15.04.20150331-0ubuntu1

---------------
indicator-datetime (13.10.0+15.04.20150331-0ubuntu1) vivid; urgency=medium

  [ Charles Kerr ]
  * Reduce the forced screen-on time for alarms to reduce battery
    consumption. Also, lower the default alarm duration from 30 minutes
    to 10 minutes. (LP: #1434637)
 -- CI Train Bot <email address hidden> Tue, 31 Mar 2015 20:25:38 +0000