$scope.$digest() in setTimeout

I wrote a jsfiddle demo to show the difference with or without $scope.$digest() inside setTimeout(): //jsfiddle.net/williamjxj/2p1bepnq/embedded/ If using $timeout() instead of setTimeout(), there will be no need to use $scope.$apply or $scope.digest(), it auto wraps within. A good explanation is AngularJS and scope.$apply.