I go back and forth on the headphone jack debate. But the notification LED I just don't get. They aren't large and intrusive like a jack - so it's not space saving. I like to leave my phone on my desk and only check it if I see an LED blinking. Not constantly wake it up to see if I missed something. I assume most people want that?
I came to two possible conclusions - 1) it's about engagement, and for some reason companies want you opening your phone often, or 2) so many apps notify for everything anymore, the LED would just constantly blink. At least 2 could be solved by only allowing certain apps or classes of notification (like say, phone or text) notify the LED.
I believe it could be one of these mistaken A/B testings - do we have hard data that a significant portion of users actually use the notification LED? No? So let's ditch it and save a huge amount of money in total. I bet someone was very proud over the idea.
I came to two possible conclusions - 1) it's about engagement, and for some reason companies want you opening your phone often, or 2) so many apps notify for everything anymore, the LED would just constantly blink. At least 2 could be solved by only allowing certain apps or classes of notification (like say, phone or text) notify the LED.