iPhone owners rave over ’12-inch rule’ setting that protects your health and admit ‘it’s very annoying but I love it’
APPLE fans are talking up a genius iPhone feature that aims to protect your eyes.
If no one told you it was there, you might never notice it – but it’s extremely useful.
The feature is called Screen Distance, and is built in to millions of iPhone models.
It was announced during Apple’s WWDC event in June last year, and landed on devices with the iOS 17 in September.
Screen Distance will warn you when you’re holding your iPhone too close to your face for too long.
“Viewing a device (or a book) too closely for an extended period of time can increase the risk of myopia for younger users and eyestrain for users of all ages,” Apple warned.
“The Screen Distance feature in Screen Time uses the TrueDepth camera (on supported models) to detect when you hold iPhone closer than 12 inches for an extended period, and encourages you to move it farther away.”
Apple added: “Screen Distance can remind younger users to engage in healthy viewing habits that can lower their risk of myopia.
“It gives adult users the opportunity to reduce digital eyestrain.”
HOW TO ACTIVATE SCREEN DISTANCE ON IPHONE
Interestingly, Apple sets Screen Distance to active for all children under 13 in a Family Sharing group by default.
But if you’re an adult that’s worried about eyestrain, you’ll have to turn it on manually.
First, make sure that your device is running iOS 17 or later.
You can check this by going to Settings > General > Software Update.
Bear in mind that some very old iPhone models can’t upgrade to iOS 17, so you might not be able to enjoy this feature.
Once you’ve got iOS 17, you can turn the feature on.
Go to Settings > Screen Time, and then tap on Screen Distanvce.
Then simply turn Screen Distance on and wait for it to work its magic – which may never happen if you’re careful with your iPhone viewing habits.
If Screen Distance is triggered, you’ll receive a pop-up warning you about your viewing error.
“When you hold the screen too close to your face for an extended period, Screen Distance covers the screen with an alert, preventing you from continuing,” Apple said.
It’s real annoying but may just be worth it to interrupt my death scroll and straining my eyes.
iPhone owner
” When you move iPhone more than 12 inches away, you can tap Continue to resume using it.”
The Continue button will be greyed out until you move your iPhone further away.
FAN FAVORITE!
Apple fans have been reacting very positively to the pop-up.
iPhone tricks to try today
Here are some of the best...
- Typing cursor – When typing, hold down the space bar to turn your keyboard into a trackpad, letting you move around words and sentences more easily
- Close all Safari tabs – To do this in one go, simply hold the overlapped squares in the bottom right-hand corner, and press close all tabs
- Delete lots of photos quickly – Hold down on a photo and then drag your finger diagonally in Photos to select lots of images at once, then hit delete
- Convert currency quickly – Swipe down from the top of your Home screen, then tap in the bar and type a currency (like €200) and it will automatically covert to your local currency
- Check if you’re due a battery upgrade – Batteries inside smartphones degrade over time. Just go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health, and check out the Maximum Capacity reading. Generally a battery is considered worn when you’re down to 80% capacity. If you’re below, you can buy a battery swap from Apple
- Move apps around faster – Hold an app until it starts wiggling, then (while still holding) tap other apps, causing them to stack so you can move them around easier
A Reddit thread about the feature has received hundreds of upvotes, with one user responding: “It helps lol, hate to admit it.”
Another user replied: “Every time I am like ‘wtf not now, how dare you interrupt my scrolling’. Followed almost immediately by ‘OK OK thanks for the reminder, I guess it’s for the best’.”
One said: “I am, it’s real annoying but may just be worth it to interrupt my death scroll and straining my eyes.”
Another noted: “Surprisingly, it has been helpful for my mental health too, as I’ve noticed the times when I’ve let the phone get too close to my face, is when I’ve been doomscrolling for too long. I’ve found it’s a good reality check.”
And one added: “Yes, at first it was annoying, but now I don’t put the phone so close to my face anymore. Good for my eyesight!”