Apple Unveils Ways to Help Limit iPhone Usage -- Update
June 04 2018 - 03:38PM
Dow Jones News
By Tripp Mickle
Apple Inc. on Monday unveiled new controls to help people curb
the amount of time they spend on iPhones and iPads, as well as
allow parents to remotely track and limit their children's use of
those devices -- a response to growing concern from former
employees and major investors that apps and devices have become too
addictive.
The company said a new app it will release in September called
"Screen Time" will provide users with weekly reports of the apps
they use and allow them to set time limits for their use of those
apps. Parents will be able to use the system to remotely monitor
the apps their children use and limit their time on devices.
The new features played a central role at Apple's annual
Worldwide Developers Conference, a gathering of about 6,000
developers who create the apps for the iPhone, iPad and Mac
computers. The event is designed to show off Apple's latest
software -- including the newest features to further integrate into
people's digital lives.
Those new features include a new Shortcuts app that will connect
the Siri voice command with certain apps -- for instance, Siri
could state flight and hotel information from the Kayak app with a
voice command. Apple also introduced new augmented technology, such
as a Measure app to capture the dimensions of objects and a
developer kit to create more AR tools. And the company unveiled
many new features to help people better share themselves digitally,
whether through FaceTime group video chat or automatic sharing of
photos with friends.
In the middle of all these announcements to drive interactivity,
Apple's software chief, Craig Federighi, paused to talk about ways
to "prevent distractions" and limit device use. Apple has been
under pressure this year to address those issues. In January, the
company received a letter from activist investor Jana Partners LLC
and the California State Teachers' Retirement System, or Calstrs,
which control about $2 billion of Apple shares. The letter urged
the tech giant to develop new software tools that would help
parents control and limit phone use more easily, and to study the
impact of overuse on mental health.
The amount of time people spend on mobile devices has increased
by more than an hour over the past five years to 3.3 hours a day,
according to research by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. A
survey sponsored by Common Sense Media found about half of 620
families in 2016 said they felt addicted to their smartphones, and
several studies have found smartphones can increase anxiety.
The findings have fostered concern that smartphones could
trigger a mental-health crisis for youth growing up with the
device. It has also stoked concern, including among some iPhone
creators, that adults are spending too much time on their devices
and not being present enough in the everyday world.
The concerns have created a predicament for leading smartphone
software developers Apple and Alphabet Inc.'s Google. They're now
trying to strike a balance between releasing exciting features that
make smartphones and tablets more useful for users, potentially
increasing the time they spend on those devices, with new tools
that empower them to control how much they use the devices.
Google responded last month by announcing its Android mobile
operating system, which has an 85% market share world-wide,
according to International Data Corp., would add a new dashboard
that allows users to set time limits for apps and make the screen
automatically turn gray when they're ready for bed]. The company
already offers a system called Family Link that allows parents to
remotely track their children's screen time.
Though Apple has offered parental controls for years, analysts
say the system only allows parents to set limits on their
children's device use -- not monitor it on a continuing basis. The
new "Screen Time" feature changes that by giving parents those same
capabilities.
A new Reports feature will detail how users spend time with the
iPhone and iPad, including how often per hour they look at their
devices, when they are using particular apps and what apps are
sending the most notifications.
"If Apple leads the way and we do a good job of educating
parents and the public about using the tools, this could be a major
step forward in addressing the challenges of attention, addiction
and distraction," said Jim Steyer, founder of Common Sense Media, a
nonprofit that promotes responsible media and technology use for
children.
Write to Tripp Mickle at Tripp.Mickle@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 04, 2018 15:23 ET (19:23 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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