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Digital well-being is the trend of the year





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Digital well-being is this year's buzzword
With the keynote of WWDC officially over, it is safe to say one thing: digital well-being is the trendy topic of the year. I/O last month and WWDC have demonstrated that the key players in mobile devices (seemingly) want you to put your phone down. However, which company has the right idea in how to do it?

Both iOS 12 and Android P have showcased coming features to address "digital well-being". For all intents and purposes, these words just mean that Apple and Google "want" you to spend less time on your phone; at least, that is the image they are portraying.

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Both iOS and Android offer new dashboards
Now, how are they both doing it? While they differ in the approach, they have very similar tools. For instance, both operating systems will allow you to set timers on apps so that you can spend as much or as little times in those apps as you choose. If you go over, you get shut out of the app. In addition, both companies have built dashboards in to the system to allow you to visually see your time spent on your phone. Finally, both companies have made it possible to monitor a child's mobile usage and place restrictions at will.

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iOS 12 has a new app timer as well
While both companies have similar ideals, they do take very different tactics to accomplish their goals. The first difference is the sheer force in which the companies use to control the behavior. When the app timer expires on iOS, you just need to click the button to ignore it and continue as you were. However, on Android, the app closes, the icon gray, and the app will no longer open until you change the setting from inside the dashboard. As for child monitoring, Apple made the feature a key part of the OS rather than a stand-alone app as on Android.

Who did it better? Well, that depends on who you are and what you like. Google clearly planned a more strong-armed system that is determined to make sure that you take care of your life. Apple, on the other hand, chose to give all of the tools needed to improve your well-being, but chose not to force those tools on you. While each tactic has advantages, there are no winners; you will just like what you like.

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