An interesting leak has emerged online this morning that suggests Samsung is about to bring a new type of light notification technology to the rear case of its smartphones.

Android phones often come with a separate notification LED on the front of the handset that alerts users to missed messages and calls. Otherwise, notifications are usually assumed to relate to the display of a mobile device.

However, leaked specs and images that appeared on Dutch mobile tech site Galaxy Club show a new type of notification system for the back of a phone that Samsung is calling 'Smart Glow'.

Samsung Smart Glow

Smart Glow system expected to appear in the Samsung Galaxy J2 (Image: Galaxy Club)

The system features a luminous ring that runs around the handset's rear camera lens and which lights up to alert users, glowing different colors depending on the function in use.

For example, the ring of light will glow to indicate that the rear camera has detected a face, allowing the user to take a selfie with the superior-quality rear lens.

The Smart Glow technology may also be used to communicate alerts when the handset has been placed face down on a surface, allowing users to choose specific colors to indicate particular notification types. Colors will also show when the battery is running low or when it has reached a full charge.

The website suggests that the notification system will appear in the Samsung Galaxy J2, due to launch in India later this year. The feature has yet to be officially announced by Samsung, so the likelihood of its appearance in the company's flagship phones like the Galaxy Note 7 remains unknown.

The idea that Apple might one day try something similar with a future iPhone is not impossible. The most obvious candidate for the implementation of a rear notification system is the iconic Apple logo that appears on the rear of every iPhone.

The same logo on a MacBook lid glows whenever the laptop is opened, and speculation that Apple planned to use a lighted logo on its phones has existed ever since iPhone 6 leaks began appearing showing a chassis cut-out and the use of an embedded logo.

Those rumors were never realized, although third-party hacks do exist that allow iPhone 6 owners to make the logo on their handsets light up using LEDs.

Early rumors for next year's so-called "iPhone 8" suggest the Cupertino company won't debut a spec-bumped, internally upgraded "iPhone 7s", but a completely overhauled handset with major design changes and new, next-generation features, like wireless charging, a Touch ID-equipped OLED display, and no home button.

At its Worldwide Developer Conference earlier this week, Apple announced a raft of updates to notifications and the way that developers are able to present them to users in iOS 10. No hardware announcements accompanied the conference, however.

Update: One of our forum members has noted that a setting in iOS 9's Accessibility options enables visual notifications on an iPhone using the rear LED flash. To use the setting, open the Settings app, tap General -> Accessibility, and Toggle LED Flash for Alerts to ON.

Tag: Samsung
Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

iFanaddic Avatar
122 months ago
I always thought the iPhone could use something like this around the home button (replacing thin metal ring) green for iMessage, red for missed calls.. But now I have an Apple watch so whatevs!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
keysofanxiety Avatar
122 months ago
Can't wait for part two of the article containing the interesting parts.
Don't be so grumpy Taipan, myself and others found this article interesting.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iFanaddic Avatar
122 months ago
You guys dont see the possibility besides notifications?

* Siri remind me to call my mom when I get home... Ring flashes slowly (Pretty much to the same rythm as a sleeping MacBook) indicating that I gave a callback/textback to do.
* Flashes blue when fingerprint is required for Apple Pay
* Turns yellow when low battery mode is on
* An animation of the ring filling up could represent the battery charging up
* An animation when invoking "Hey Siri"
* Rapidly blinks in red when in lost mode


These are just a few.. The possibilities are endless!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tycho24 Avatar
122 months ago
I just press the home button and I can see what messages I missed...
Lol, nevermind then! I guess NOBODY would benefit from being able to see at a glance whether they have a missed call or unread text without touching their phone, or lighting up the screen,because you currently press the home button (umm... btw, that's currently the ONLY option, so we probably didn't need for you to mention that).
Seriously, why can't some people get over themselves????!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
5105973 Avatar
122 months ago
I don't have my phone out at meetings/dinner/etc as it is very rude.

It is in my pocket on silent in such a situation.

When at home my phone is on bedside or next to my pc while im using it face up so the coloured led is visable.

I never put phone face down as it will mark the face, unless it is on the bed or soft furnishing.

I have an armoured case for my s7 edge and the case has cut out for rear red light which is used for heart rate but case obscures it a little so heart rate not always detected.
So even with cut out it may not be always visible.
Is that UK good manners you're observing, or your personal good manners? Where I live in the US, east coast mid-Atlantic region, everyone seems to always have their smart phones out and checking them, whether at meetings or dinner or social events. I don't see people doing that as much down south, so even in the US smart phone etiquette might vary by region. West coast manners seemed the same as my area, but I'm never there long enough to be certain.

At social events we use them to snap pictures, so there's that excuse. But I could be at a social event and my friends will pull out their phones and start texting or posting to social media while still chatting with me. I never thought to be offended because that seems to be the norm here. At restaurants smartphones are ubiquitous.

Also, everyone seems to always be connected to work all the time. My husband and many of my friends have to take work related calls at all hours. One of my friends in sales seems to never be off of his phone. It does make it hard to socialize with him. He's European, so if the manners are different outside of the US, he has adopted our ways by necessity.

I think you sound very considerate.

Having the Apple Watch does make it easier to be connected surreptitiously to all of our notifications, but if you're caught glancing at the watch too often people do think you're checking the time and wanting to get away from them.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macduke Avatar
122 months ago
Their displays for one. Samsung pay is actually more versatile than Apple Pay right now. Their chip fabrication. But whatever - doesn't matter what I type to you. I just find it funny that you can say with a straight face that Samsung doesn't invent anything.
If you check my comment, I said their displays were good. I doubt their mobile unit comes up with the display tech. That's what their display unit does. Their mobile unit just pieces together the good work of their other units, slaps a s***ty UI on it, steals the industrial design of whatever company's phone is popular, and shoves it out the door.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Wednesday October 1, 2025 1:26 pm PDT by
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, and Safari. More features and changes will follow in future versions,...
iPhone 17 vs Air and Pros Feature

New iPhones See 'Stronger Than Expected' Demand With One Exception

Thursday October 2, 2025 7:26 am PDT by
Nearly two weeks after the iPhone 17 series launched, analysts at investment banking firm Morgan Stanley said demand for the devices has been "modestly stronger than we originally expected," based on a combination of extended shipping estimates on Apple's online store and information it gathered from Apple's supply chain. There has been strong early demand for the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro,...
macbook air prime day 2025

M5 MacBook Air: Release Date, Features, and Performance Predictions

Friday October 3, 2025 3:39 am PDT by
The MacBook Air is Apple's most popular laptop – a thin, fanless machine that wields quiet power thanks to the efficiency of Apple silicon. While the M4 model isn't exactly old, attention is already turning to its successor. Apple doesn't telegraph new product launches ahead of time, but we can draw a surprisingly clear picture of what to expect by looking at Apple's silicon roadmap,...
iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26 Adds These 200 New Features and Changes to Your iPhone

Saturday October 4, 2025 8:19 am PDT by
Apple's website offers a list of nearly 200 new features and changes (PDF file) included in the software update, released last month. Apple also shared equivalent lists for iPadOS 26 and macOS Tahoe. iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 and newer. To install the update, open the Settings app on your iPhone, tap on General, and tap on Software Update. Below, we have highlighted eight ...
john ternus on stage

Gurman: Major Apple Leadership Shakeup Impending With John Ternus as Next CEO

Monday October 6, 2025 6:21 am PDT by
Apple is entering its most significant leadership transition in more than a decade as multiple senior executives prepare to depart and CEO Tim Cook begins to shape the company's next generation of leaders, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that Jeff Williams, who was viewed as Cook's potential successor for several...
Tim Cook Rainbow

Apple Event in October? Here's What to Expect

Monday September 29, 2025 9:31 am PDT by
Apple's annual iPhone event is in the rearview mirror, but rumors suggest the company plans to release a handful of additional products before the year ends. Will there be another Apple event this October? We discuss the possibility below. Apple in October Apple's most recent October events were in 2021 and 2023. In 2022 and 2024, Apple did not host an October event. Instead, it...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: Leaks Reveal What Apple Products Are Coming Next

Friday October 3, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
On this episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss the latest leaks about the next-generation iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, Studio Display, and Vision Pro. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Earlier this week, an apparent unboxing video of an updated iPad Pro with the M5 chip was shared online. The same YouTube account leaked the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4 chip...
space black mbp

Here's Every New Apple Product That Leaked Yesterday

Wednesday October 1, 2025 8:27 am PDT by
A handful of upcoming Apple products leaked yesterday, through a combination of YouTube videos out of Russia and U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) documents that were released, despite Apple's confidentiality requests. The leaked products include an iPad Pro with an M5 chip, as well as updated MacBook Pro and Apple Vision Pro models. All of these devices had already been rumored...