One of the best features on the new Moto X is its Active Display, which lets you receive updates and notifications even when its phone is asleep. Android developer Great Bytes Software was quick to respond to with Active Notifications, an app that brings similar functionality to a much wider range of Android phones. But whereas the initial release was only available on the few phones out there running Android 4.3, an update makes it compatible with all phones running Android 4.0 and later.
According to Great Bytes, support for Android 4.0 to 4.2 is only experimental at the moment. But if it works on your phone, the only thing you’re missing out on is the “NotificationListenerService” feature, which isn’t available on earlier builds of Android.
Otherwise, Active Notifications will place important notifications on your screen when it is off, letting you decide if they’re important enough to act on. The app is free, but the $ 0.99 premium version lets you hide notifications at night, adjust privacy settings and screen brightness, and automatically switch the phone off when dismissing notifications.
It may not be quite as full-featured and power-efficient as the Active Display on the Moto X, but if you’ve got a different phone and you’re running a recent version of Android, it looks like a pretty good substitute.
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