Topic by skipgilles

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Topic: iPad app feature suggestion: sleep timeout

*My setup*

I connect my midi device to my iPad 8 (using camera adapter) and I am very happy with this solution. It gives a very clean look, I only have my iPad, instead of a (noisy) laptop, which I used to have on my keyboard. The performance is perfect. I have checked "enable background audio" on the "Devices" tab of "Options", so that Pianoteq works also with other apps open (e.g., a sheet music app).

*My experience*

What I really love about this setup: my Pianoteq is always ready to play; I only need to turn on my soundcard and boxes with a power switch and I'm ready to go. The iPad screen does not even need to wake up, it just works. I would recommend this setup to every user.

*A problem and a possible solution*

One significant drawback: Pianoteq runs in the background also when I'm not playing, eating half an iPad battery per idle day. That's a waste of energy! Would it be possible to have Pianoteq to "go to sleep" after not getting midi notes for, say, 10 minutes, and wake up when getting a midi note sent?

This would save a lot of resources.

Reply by skipgilles

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Re: iPad app feature suggestion: sleep timeout

Just here to see whether this got any traction. Am I the only one finding it a waste of energy? (either of the battery, or of myself, having to close and open the app each time I play)

Reply by Wotl

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Re: iPad app feature suggestion: sleep timeout

skipgilles wrote:

Just here to see whether this got any traction. Am I the only one finding it a waste of energy? (either of the battery, or of myself, having to close and open the app each time I play)

No you’re not. It is very relevant. I agree. A timeout must be implemented with a time user choice in the app preferences.

Reply by julien

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Re: iPad app feature suggestion: sleep timeout

We can add a timeout to the background audio so that, after a period without notable events, Pianoteq disconnects from the soundcard, allowing iOS to suspend it. In the suspended state, it will not use any battery. However, the issue is that once Pianoteq has been suspended, you will need to activate it again (by tapping the app icon) before it can respond to any MIDI event.

julien's Website

Reply by dv

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Re: iPad app feature suggestion: sleep timeout

julien wrote:

We can add a timeout to the background audio so that, after a period without notable events, Pianoteq disconnects from the soundcard, allowing iOS to suspend it. In the suspended state, it will not use any battery. However, the issue is that once Pianoteq has been suspended, you will need to activate it again (by tapping the app icon) before it can respond to any MIDI event.

If doable and not too much work, my preference would be an app setting with the option of "disable Pianoteq after X minutes" with a configurable X from 10 minutes to "never" so users can prioritize saving battery vs having the app always available.

Where do I find a list of all posts I upvoted? :(

Reply by JoeForPiano

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Re: iPad app feature suggestion: sleep timeout

julien wrote:

We can add a timeout to the background audio so that, after a period without notable events, Pianoteq disconnects from the soundcard, allowing iOS to suspend it. In the suspended state, it will not use any battery. However, the issue is that once Pianoteq has been suspended, you will need to activate it again (by tapping the app icon) before it can respond to any MIDI event.

Sounds good to me.

Reply by skipgilles

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Re: iPad app feature suggestion: sleep timeout

julien wrote:

We can add a timeout to the background audio so that, after a period without notable events, Pianoteq disconnects from the soundcard, allowing iOS to suspend it. In the suspended state, it will not use any battery. However, the issue is that once Pianoteq has been suspended, you will need to activate it again (by tapping the app icon) before it can respond to any MIDI event.

Thanks for your reply! I agree with joe and dv above: this sounds good. A user setting that defines after how long an idle time it falls asleep seems an intuitive way of implementing it in the user interface. Sad that the power can only be saved by disconnecting from the sound card, so waking up by playing is no option. However, this may be something for which a workaround can be made using this funny shortcuts app on iOS.

As a default for the idle time before sleep, I'd like to suggest 4 minutes and 33 seconds.

Last edited by skipgilles (09-10-2024 12:39)