UFOrb
Contributor
In my pre-dive briefing I routinely tell the divers to let me know when they get to half tank (or sometimes even before, usually @ 110 or 120 bar) so I can gauge where we are and make sure they will have enough gas to complete the dive. AI divers are usually on the money an let me know. SPG divers rarely do and I have to ask them, or worse they tell me they only have 50 bar left.
I have definitely been checking my air a lot more often than I used to, even though I can read my spg without unclipping it as it's clipped to my left shoulder, facing me. As I usually take a camera on dives its also so easy to glance at my wrist while holding the camera.
One of the nice things about AI computers is the you can set alarms at certain points (at least you can on the AL i450t), eg I have an alert set for when I reach 100 bar and an alert for 30 bar (in the unlikely event I've completely lost track of my remaining air).
Maybe not essential but very useful, and may possibly help avoid an ooa incident.
The air remaining feature is nice too. It adds a little comfort and could potentially help you stay more relaxed. Again, not essential but nice to have.