Thread in Kindle subreddit says kindle now has cover as screensaver option - Page 5

Braid · 04-19-2021, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomsem

Folks, this is barely even a feature worth mentioning. If you use a cover, you will never even see the images.

I'll see them for the two seconds between opening the cover and the device waking up! However, as you say, in my case it really isn't important; I probably won't even leave the feature enabled. But, I'm still excited about getting it. Does that make sense?

Atunah · 04-19-2021, 09:39 AM

Appeared last night when I settled into bed for reading. Gave me a popup and the option to turn it on. I don't use a cover on my Oasis2 so I see it for a sec before it comes out of sleep. And of course while its laying around. Haven't checked my Voyage or Oasis1 yet.

Its nice now that I have it. But its not something I would "need" to have. Its not a deal breaker. Only turn buttons are a deal breaker for me.

Pretty much all my books are from amazon though (purchased,library,KU), so it should work on all of mine.

Paperbackstash · 04-19-2021, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomsem

Folks, this is barely even a feature worth mentioning. If you use a cover, you will never even see the images.

I agree. It's a fun new feature many have wanted for awhile, but I have ad-supported and don't feel like paying 20 to unlock just this, or go to customer service and awkwardly ask if they'll turn it off for me for free. I may try that sometime but it's...awkward. It's not worth the 20.00 unlock for me though after I've thought about it.

rem736 · 04-19-2021, 01:16 PM

i updated my KOA2 this morning to 5.13.5. i still don't see the "Show Cover" item in Settings > Device Options. mine is a non-ad version.

j.p.s · 04-19-2021, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomsem

Folks, this is barely even a feature worth mentioning. If you use a cover, you will never even see the images.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhowell

Amazon’s web page documenting this feature makes it clear.

Yes, quite clear.

The feature is not mentioned at all on the kindle product pages. It will be interesting to see how it is presented when that happens, if it does happen. Maybe it's not there because it isn't officially released yet, or maybe because it is not considered even barely worth mentioning.

DuckieTigger · 04-19-2021, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rem736

i updated my KOA2 this morning to 5.13.5. i still don't see the "Show Cover" item in Settings > Device Options. mine is a non-ad version.

Try syncing and restarting, twice. I updated yesterday (one of them was already updated as wifi was on). The results are as this: both Oasis 3 got the cover option right away, the Oasis 2 needed a sync and restart to show the cover option, the PW3 needed a sync and restart to show the series option. The series option was missing on all Oasis, and the PW3 was missing the cover option. An additional sync and restart activated the missing series display on all Oasis and the cover option on the PW3. All updates were with OTA, not manually downloaded, some needed wifi on to get it the update first.

rem736 · 04-19-2021, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

Try syncing and restarting, twice. I updated yesterday (one of them was already updated as wifi was on). The results are as this: both Oasis 3 got the cover option right away, the Oasis 2 needed a sync and restart to show the cover option, the PW3 needed a sync and restart to show the series option. The series option was missing on all Oasis, and the PW3 was missing the cover option. An additional sync and restart activated the missing series display on all Oasis and the cover option on the PW3. All updates were with OTA, not manually downloaded, some needed wifi on to get it the update first.

i did the sync + restart sequence twice. on the second restart, i got a message informing me of the "group by series" feature. but when i looked in settings, show cover was still not there. when i synced, there was nothing to sync as i always side load my books. maybe this has something to do with it?

DuckieTigger · 04-19-2021, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rem736

i did the sync + restart sequence twice. on the second restart, i got a message informing me of the "group by series" feature. but when i looked in settings, show cover was still not there. when i synced, there was nothing to sync as i always side load my books. maybe this has something to do with it?

I doubt it has anything to do with sideloading. Maybe try downloading a book directly from library and sync again? As my Kindles show (3 different models, 4 different behaviors, all same account), getting the features activated was, well, inconsistent. At least it appears to be account centric and not per individual device.

kyrilson · 04-19-2021, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rem736

i did the sync + restart sequence twice. on the second restart, i got a message informing me of the "group by series" feature. but when i looked in settings, show cover was still not there. when i synced, there was nothing to sync as i always side load my books. maybe this has something to do with it?

I don't think it has anything to do with that. I have a bunch of kindles, and three in particular that should get this show cover option (Kindle Voyage, PW4, and Oasis 2) and none of them have done it, yet. *shrug* It'll come when it comes, I suppose. Amazon is rather odd with this bizarre partial rollout.

jhowell · 04-19-2021, 03:14 PM

A/B testing and gradual rollout of features are a part of the Amazon software development culture. They use a system called Web Lab to run "experiments" and many new Kindle features are enabled through this process.

Each device checks Amazon's servers periodically to determine which group it is in with respect to experimental features. A device has to be in the correct group in order for a feature to appear.

Amazon seems to be slowly adding devices to the group that enables the lock screen cover feature. I suspect that restarting the device triggers it to check its Web Lab status sooner than it would normally do so, leading to a greater chance of seeing this feature enabled following a restart.

JSWolf · 04-19-2021, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skydog

Why do you ask when you know the answer? Amazon has never offered such a disclaimer.

Because up until now, Amazon has never had a firmware feature that needed to have the ad-free version of the firmware.

JSWolf · 04-19-2021, 03:23 PM

So what about those who keep WiFi off and don't know about the need to keep WiFi on to get new features?

One problem with the this new cover feature is that if you don't use Calibre and side load, a lot of eBooks have ugly generic covers.

jhowell · 04-19-2021, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

So what about those who keep WiFi off and don't know about the need to keep WiFi on to get new features?

A Kindle owner who always keeps their device offline will need to upgrade to a future firmware version in which this feature is no longer experimental in order to enable it.

ZodWallop · 04-19-2021, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

So what about those who keep WiFi off and don't know about the need to keep WiFi on to get new features?

They won't get new features, just as would happen with any other ereader, including Kobo.

JSWolf · 04-19-2021, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

They won't get new features, just as would happen with any other ereader, including Kobo.

Not so with Kobo. I can side load new firmware and get any new features that do not require WiFi right away.

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04-19-2021, 09:39 AM	#62
Atunah Wizard Posts: 1,817 Karma: 23400001 Join Date: May 2012 Location: USA Device: K1/K3/BasicK Voyage/Oasis1/Oasis3	Appeared last night when I settled into bed for reading. Gave me a popup and the option to turn it on. I don't use a cover on my Oasis2 so I see it for a sec before it comes out of sleep. And of course while its laying around. Haven't checked my Voyage or Oasis1 yet. Its nice now that I have it. But its not something I would "need" to have. Its not a deal breaker. Only turn buttons are a deal breaker for me. Pretty much all my books are from amazon though (purchased,library,KU), so it should work on all of mine.

04-19-2021, 01:16 PM	#64
rem736 purpose priority passion Posts: 645 Karma: 9002000 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: socal, usa Device: sony prs-350, b&n ngp, rM2, kindle scribe, boox poke5	i updated my KOA2 this morning to 5.13.5. i still don't see the "Show Cover" item in Settings > Device Options. mine is a non-ad version.

04-19-2021, 03:14 PM	#70
jhowell Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,023 Karma: 90000009 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Charlottesville, VA Device: Kindles	A/B testing and gradual rollout of features are a part of the Amazon software development culture. They use a system called Web Lab to run "experiments" and many new Kindle features are enabled through this process. Each device checks Amazon's servers periodically to determine which group it is in with respect to experimental features. A device has to be in the correct group in order for a feature to appear. Amazon seems to be slowly adding devices to the group that enables the lock screen cover feature. I suspect that restarting the device triggers it to check its Web Lab status sooner than it would normally do so, leading to a greater chance of seeing this feature enabled following a restart.

04-19-2021, 03:23 PM	#72
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,035 Karma: 144284074 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	So what about those who keep WiFi off and don't know about the need to keep WiFi on to get new features? One problem with the this new cover feature is that if you don't use Calibre and side load, a lot of eBooks have ugly generic covers.