Add function to set alarm "--:-- from now"

[ltguillaume]

Describe the solution you'd like

There are cases where it would be preferable to not set an alarm by specifying the time directly, but by filling in the amount of hours and minutes from now (or, more specifically, from the moment you press the "OK" button).

Use case

Examples are when you have a washing machine that displays the time remaining or you need to put in x hours of work.

The benefits of setting an alarm compared to setting up a timer are:

1. You're able to configure a separate ringtone, so you know immediately what's going on
2. You're able to reuse a previous alarm's settings, while being able to change the time
3. You're able to set a one-time alarm this way, which will be gone after it went off
4. You'll get a notification that the alarm is set to go off when configured in the settings

Describe alternatives you've considered

Timers have the above drawbacks. To make timers as useful as an alarm with a "From now" feature, it would mean implementing:

1. The ability to choose a ringtone per timer
2. The ability to change an existing timer's remaining time
3. The ability to remove the timer after it went off and was stopped
4. The ability to add a notification of a timer's status

That's a lot more work than a single change for alarms.

Additional context

This could be implemented by adding to the digital time picker:

• Long-pressing "OK" to set the alarm "from now"
• Adding a "FROM NOW" button next to "CANCEL" and "OK"
• Adding a checkmark/switch above the aforementioned buttons, named "Set the alarm --h--m from now" (dynamically setting -- to the user input)

[BlackyHawky]

I don't understand the benefits of setting an alarm as you describe:

1. You're able to configure a separate ringtone, so you know immediately what's going on → Already possible in the extended alarm view
2. You're able to reuse a previous alarm's settings → Simply click on the "Duplicate" button
3. You're able to set a one-time alarm this way, which will be gone after it went off → Simply click on the "Delete alarm once dismissed" checkbox
4. You'll get a notification that the alarm is set to go off when configured in the settings → Already possible in the Alarms settings

That's a lot more work than a single change for alarms.

This is not true.

[ltguillaume]

I meant that implementing all these features for a timer would be a lot more work than implementing only a "From now" feature for alarms.

[ltguillaume]

Or did you mean that implementing these 4 features for timers is in fact not more work?

[BlackyHawky]

From what I understand, in summary, you want to port some functionality from alarms to timers. Is that correct?

I meant that implementing all these features for a timer would be a lot more work than implementing only a "From now" feature for alarms.

What I was saying was that implementing the "From now" feature would also take a lot of work and above all it could generate major unexpected bugs.

[ltguillaume]

From what I understand, in summary, you want to port some functionality from alarms to timers. Is that correct?

I would prefer the addition of a "From now" button for alarms and proposed the porting of functions to timers only as an alternative solution to reach the same goal.

[BlackyHawky]

From what you describe, why not just use the timer?
I really don't understand the benefit of your request... 🤔

[ltguillaume]

1. You cannot set an individual ringtone for a timer: for me, the ringtone of an alarm indicates what the alarm is for
2. You cannot change the time remaining for existing timers (e.g. when using a different washing program or when you forgot to initiate the timer from the very beginning)
3. You cannot let timers be removed automatically after they're done
4. You're not getting a notification for timers x minutes before they run out

Apparently you misunderstood me earlier when I listed these, as you countered these as already possible for alarms. That was exactly my point. They are what I'm missing when trying to set a timer wegen compared to setting an alarm.

The "From now" solution would be a lot less prone to introducing any bugs, because it would immediately show if something went wrong, seeing as it would only set the time of a regular alarm.

At pressing OK it would just take set the alarm for currentTime + hours field + minutes field.