As per popular demand, Apple at WWDC 2018 announced new tools built into iOS 12 to help iPhone users understand and take control of the time they spend on their devices.
These new features, available later this month as part of the iOS 12 public beta, include Activity Reports, App Limits and new Do Not Disturb and Notifications controls designed to help users reduce interruptions and manage screen time better for themselves and their families.
Techcrunch
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In iOS 12, we're offering our users detailed information and tools to help them better understand and control the time they spend with apps and websites, how often they pick up their iPhone or iPad during the day and how they receive notifications,¡± said Craig Federighi, Apple¡¯s senior vice president of Software Engineering.
¡°We first introduced parental controls for iPhone in 2008, and our team has worked thoughtfully over the years to add features to help parents manage their children's content. With Screen Time, these new tools are empowering users who want help managing their device time, and balancing the many things that are important to them."
iOS 12 brings enhancements to Do Not Disturb, making this powerful time management tool even better by helping people stay in the moment during times like studying as well as during a class, meeting or dinner. There is also a new Do Not Disturb during Bedtime mode to help people get a better night's sleep by dimming the display and hiding all notifications on the lock screen until prompted in the morning. Do Not Disturb has new options from Control Center where it can be set to automatically end based on a specified time or location.
To help reduce interruptions, iOS 12 gives customers more options for controlling how notifications are delivered. Instantly manage notifications to be turned off completely or delivered directly to Notification Center. Siri can also intelligently make suggestions for notifications settings, such as to quietly deliver or turn alerts off, based on which alerts are acted upon. iOS 12 also introduces Grouped Notifications, making it easier to view and manage multiple notifications at once.
Empowering customers with insight into how they are spending time with apps and websites, Screen Time creates detailed daily and weekly Activity Reports that show the total time a person spends in each app they use, their usage across categories of apps, how many notifications they receive and how often they pick up their iPhone or iPad.
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By understanding how they¡¯re interacting with their iOS devices, people can take control of how much time they spend in a particular app, website or category of apps. The App Limits feature allows people to set a specific amount of time to be in an app, and a notification will display when a time limit is about to expire.
Screen Time is great for everyone to better understand and manage their device usage, but can be especially helpful for kids and families. Parents can access their child¡¯s Activity Report right from their own iOS devices to understand where their child spends their time and can manage and set App Limits for them.
Earlier this year in fact, two major Apple shareholders?warned the company?that an addiction to the iPhone could hinder the developmental processes of kids using the device, and urged them to make efforts to counter this. Google was the first to take that step, having announced a?suit of features?in the upcoming Android P that help monitor and control your smartphone use. Even Instagram recently announced it¡¯s?bringing in a tool?that will let you see just how much time you¡¯re spending in the app.