iOS 12 to offer screen and usage discipline features


Apple is in a unique space where they want to drive product engagement as a measure of customer satisfaction but not revenue. It doesn't matter to Apple's balance sheet how much time you spend on a particular screen except that you’re finding value in the product and will want to upgrade. If you’re making money on screen time, however, there are many incentives to trigger addictive behavior. Apple has been called out for facilitating this addictive behavior with iOS and it has responded by offering users more data and controls.

The new Screen Time feature seems similar to what we’ve seen on the Mac for years in various productivity tools. It provides metrics on the time you spend on what types of activities and also show you specific apps. This could reveal some interesting facts. If you feel social media, for example, doesn’t add much value to your day, knowing how much time you spend in that class of apps and also specific apps can give insights on your habits. With that information, you can make some positive changes.

To help make those changes iOS 12 will offer new notification features for less intrusive notifications. Another feature called Downtime seems an extension of Do Not Disturb. This feature allows users to block off notification times beyond bedtime or while driving. This could be family time, for example. iOS 12 will also allow for timers for specific app usage during Downtime. This last feature seems specifically geared for parents, but I could see all these features being useful for everyone looking to better get a handle on the time spent on devices.

iOS 12 is expected to be available for free later this fall.