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AuraDisplay vs Always On Edge: Edge Lighting Apps Compared (2026)
By the llcloud team 5 min read
The short answer
Pick Always On Edge if you want one app that also does a custom Always On Display, call and music lighting, a notification ticker and live wallpapers, and you enjoy tuning lots of options. Pick AuraDisplay if you want a focused notification light that sets itself up from app icons, fits your camera cutout and stays steady on AOD.
Always On Edge, by Dubiaz, is a large toolkit: edge lighting for notifications, calls, charging and music, colors per app, contact or account, a custom Always On Display with widgets, a notification ticker and animated wallpapers. AuraDisplay does less on purpose. It draws a ring around the camera or a glow along the edge for notifications, colors each app from its icon, and holds a steady light on AOD.
Always On Edge is one of the best-known edge lighting apps on Google Play, with more than 10 million downloads and an update as recent as October 2026. AuraDisplay is a narrower app: a notification light around the camera or along the screen edge, on the lock screen and Always On Display. Which one suits you depends on whether you want a toolkit or a single job done simply. This comparison uses each app's Google Play listing as of October 2026.
How do AuraDisplay and Always On Edge compare?
| Feature | Always On Edge | AuraDisplay |
|---|---|---|
| Light around the camera cutout | ✓ | ✓ |
| Light along the screen edge | ✓ | ✓ |
| Different placement with screen on and off | ✓ | Per app, ring or edge |
| Color per app | ✓ Custom | ✓ Automatic from the app icon, custom with Pro |
| Color per contact or account | ✓ | ✓ Pro (BETA), in seven messaging apps |
| Lighting for calls and music | ✓ | ✗ |
| Charging light | ✓ | ✓ Pro |
| Reminder with sound | ✓ | ✗ |
| Several notifications at once | ✓ Mixer cycles colors | ✓ Pro, up to three shown together |
| Pause at night, low battery or charging | ✓ | ✓ Pro quiet hours and battery-aware dimming |
| Custom Always On Display with clock and widgets | ✓ | ✗ |
| Notification ticker and preview widget | ✓ | ✗ |
| Animated live wallpapers | ✓ | ✗ |
| Steady, non-animated light on AOD | Not stated | ✓ By design |
| Ads | Not labeled as containing ads | ✗ None |
| Paid features | In-app purchases | One-time Pro purchase |
What does Always On Edge do well?
Range. Its listing reads like several apps in one.
For notifications it can light around the camera hole, the whole edge or both, and it can use a different placement depending on whether the screen is on or off. You set color and style per app and also per contact or account name. A block list stops it lighting for one person, and the opposite rule lights an app only for the one person you care about. A Reminder repeats the light every few seconds with an optional sound, and a mixer cycles through the colors of everything pending.
Beyond notifications it lights for charging, incoming and outgoing calls and music. It adds options for the system AOD, such as showing it only on notifications or while charging, and its own custom Always On Display with a clock, notification icons, a preview panel and battery status. There is also a notification ticker that shows a short preview around the camera or in the status bar, a home screen notification widget and animated live wallpapers.
If you like to tune everything, few apps give you more to play with.
Where does Always On Edge ask more of you?
All that range comes with a lot of settings. Its own listing calls it an app with "too many features with detailed options". That is great if you enjoy tinkering and slower if you just want WhatsApp to glow green.
Several of its features, such as the custom AOD, the ticker and the music and call lighting, overlap with things your phone may already do, so you may end up choosing which app controls what. Its listing does not say how the lighting styles behave on a dozing AOD panel, so try it on your own phone with the screen off before deciding.
What does AuraDisplay do differently?
AuraDisplay focuses on one thing: telling you, at a glance, which app is waiting.
- Sets itself up. Each app's light takes its color from the app icon, so the first light already makes sense.
- Fits your cutout. The ring finds punch holes, pills and teardrop notches, and you can nudge the position and scale. A self-test during setup shows a real notification lighting it.
- Ring or edge, per app. Mix both on one phone. Edge mode works on phones with no cutout.
- Works with your phone's own AOD. It draws over the Always On Display your phone already has instead of replacing it.
- Steady on AOD. The AOD panel refreshes about once a second, so AuraDisplay holds a static glow there and animates only while the screen is on. Read what Always On Display can and cannot do for the 1Hz limit and burn-in.
- One-time Pro. Per-contact colors (BETA), custom colors, Dual Edge, Flash, Wave, Orbit and Static, up to three apps at once with stacked rings or nested edge glows, quiet hours, auto-dismiss, battery-aware dimming below 30% and a charging indicator.
What are AuraDisplay's limits?
It has no custom AOD, no ticker, no call or music lighting, no reminder sound and no live wallpapers. On AOD you get a steady glow rather than an animation, and to see it with the screen off you need an AMOLED screen with AOD turned on.
Like Always On Edge, it needs notification access and an accessibility service. Battery managers on some phones close background apps, and a force-stop switches the accessibility service off. AuraDisplay sends a notification so you can turn it back on. Our guides to why Android kills background apps and to stopping Samsung from killing apps show the settings that help either app.
Which should you choose?
- Choose Always On Edge if you want one app for edge lighting, a custom AOD, a ticker, call and music lighting and live wallpapers, and you enjoy adjusting detailed options.
- Choose AuraDisplay if you want a notification light that works from the first minute, fits your camera, keeps your phone's own AOD and stays easy on battery.
- On a Galaxy, Samsung's built-in Lighting effect may be enough for a quick alert. See AuraDisplay vs Samsung Edge Lighting, and for a simpler LED-style app, AuraDisplay vs NotifyBuddy.
Both are free to try. Our guide to edge lighting for notifications on any Android phone covers the built-in options too.
Sources
Questions
Is Always On Edge free?
Always On Edge is free to install. Its Play listing shows in-app purchases and does not show the contains ads label. AuraDisplay is also free with no ads, and its Pro upgrade is a single one-time purchase with no subscription. Prices can differ by country, so check each listing in your own Play Store.
Can Always On Edge replace my phone's Always On Display?
Its listing describes a custom Always On Display with an ambient clock, notification icons, a preview panel and battery status, plus extras for the system AOD such as showing it only for notifications or while charging. AuraDisplay does not replace AOD. It draws a ring or edge glow on top of your phone's own Always On Display.
Do these apps animate on Always On Display?
An AOD panel refreshes about once a second, so smooth animation is not possible while the screen stays in its low-power mode. AuraDisplay holds a steady glow on AOD and animates only while the screen is on. Always On Edge has many lighting styles and options, so check how they look on your own phone with the screen off.
Can I give each contact a different color?
Both can. Always On Edge's listing says you can set color and style per app and also per contact or account name, with a block list for particular people. AuraDisplay Pro adds per-contact colors as a BETA feature in WhatsApp, Google Messages, Samsung Messages, Telegram, Viber, Messenger and Instagram.
Why do these apps need the accessibility service?
Android lets a third-party app draw over the lock screen and Always On Display only through an accessibility service. Always On Edge's listing includes an accessibility disclosure that explains its use, and AuraDisplay uses it only to draw the light. AuraDisplay reads the app name and icon color, and never stores or shares notification content.
