What the 0.2-Second and 0.5-Second Flicker Timings Control
Flicker behavior has two timing values that are easy to confuse: the current 0.2-second value is written on the minimum press duration the long-press gesture requires, while the current 0.5-second value is written on the interval used after repeated switching has begun. The first corresponds to how long a press has to last to count as a hold, and the second to how long the viewer waits between candidate changes once it has started.
0.2 seconds sits on the minimum duration the long-press gesture requires, and 0.5 seconds sits on the timer that runs after switching starts; each governs one stage and neither substitutes for the other.
The 0.2-second value sits on the long-press minimum duration
Flicker starts from a long-press gesture, and the 0.2-second value is written on that gesture’s minimum duration; once the behavior has started, a timer advances it every 0.5 seconds. What can be checked directly is that holding the press starts repeated switching and releasing stops it at once. Whether a shorter press also enters the behavior has to be settled by trying it on the screen. In either case this 0.2-second value does not determine how fast images change after flicker has started.
There is another boundary that is easier to run into: when the current candidate group holds fewer than two images, holding the press does not start switching, because there is no next image to show. The feeling of “how long until it begins” and “how long between changes after it begins” should therefore be treated as two questions, and the second is governed only by the 0.5-second interval, not by 0.2 seconds. The current interface has no setting that changes either value.
The 0.5-second value controls only the switching interval
Once flicker has started, the displayed candidate advances at the current 0.5-second interval. When the sequence reaches the end of the candidate set, it loops back to the beginning. The cadence is chosen to leave time to observe changes between candidates, but it should not be described as an experimentally proven ideal speed.
The 0.5-second value is not the long-press trigger duration and is not the duration of the single-image transition animation. It only sets the gap between successive candidate changes during repeated switching. The current interface also has no setting that changes this interval.
The minimum press duration and the switching interval are two fixed constants in the current behavior; one timing value should not be used to explain the job of the other.
What is replaced on each switch
Each flicker step replaces the whole candidate image rather than combining the previous and next image into a mixed display. The index advances through the candidates and returns to the beginning after reaching the end, producing a repeating sequence of whole-image replacements. This display behavior is different from the overlay or difference view described in What the Comparison Screen Does When It Has No Overlay Difference View or Split Screen.
A single change also has a shorter animation duration that controls the feel of that one visual transition, but that duration is not the 0.5-second switching interval. The animation belongs to the display of an individual replacement and does not change the cadence of repeated switching. Keeping those two layers separate prevents the transition animation from being mistaken for the flicker period.
Why release or leaving the screen stops the behavior
Releasing the press stops flicker immediately and leaves the view on the candidate that was showing; the loop does not keep switching after the screen is left. Changing to another candidate group stops the behavior and returns to the first image, while leaving the comparison screen only stops it and does not move the view back. Flicker therefore belongs to the current comparison view and the current candidate group.
After returning to the screen the user has to press and hold again, and only moving to another group takes the view back to the start, rather than expecting the prior loop to continue. The stop conditions are fixed parts of the current behavior just like the two timing constants. They can be checked directly by holding, releasing, changing groups, and leaving the screen.
How the two values should be read as usage boundaries
The 0.2-second value sits on the minimum duration of the long-press gesture, and the 0.5-second value sits on the timer that drives repeated switching. The 0.5-second value gives the candidates an observable cadence. These are current values and should not be presented as a universally optimal speed.
There is no settings entry for either timing value, so whether the cadence suits a particular user has to be judged by trying it on the screen. How Continuity Photos Should Link to Shots and Takes addresses where the candidate images belong, not how fast the flicker cycles. The closing distinction is simple: one value covers how long a press has to last, the other covers how often the image changes after that has started.
FAQ
Does 0.2 seconds control how fast the image changes?
No. The 0.2-second value sits on the minimum duration of the long-press gesture. The cadence after the start is controlled only by the 0.5-second interval.
Is 0.5 seconds the amount of time I must hold before flicker starts?
No, 0.5 seconds is the interval between successive switches after flicker has already started. The 0.2-second value belongs to the long-press gesture and has nothing to do with the switching cadence.
Does flicker continue after I release the press?
No. Releasing stops it and the view stays on the current image. Changing the candidate group stops it and returns to the first image; leaving the screen stops it without moving the view back.
Can these two timings be changed in settings?
The current interface has no settings entry for either the 0.2-second minimum press duration or the 0.5-second switching interval. Whether the cadence is suitable has to be judged by trying it on the screen.
Axiom One LLC — SlateX. Figures current as of 24 September 2026.