Google wants to give us back some of the time stolen by our smartphones.
Forget television: the smartphone is the new vampire sucking away our time. And the tech giants are beginning to understand that more time on the small screen isn’t necessarily a good thing for us – or them.
The next update of Android, the operating system on more than 80% of the world’s smartphones, will have tools to help limit smartphone usage and cut down on distracting notifications that keep us unlocking our phones a hundred or more times a day.
These features have long existed in third-party apps for Android, but Google’s decision to build them into Android P, which is expected by August, is the first major acknowledgement of the importance of digital well-being.
Using the Anti-Social smartphone app, I discovered that I spent nearly 42 hours attending to my smartphone in February, and I’m by no means a heavy user. All of those quick glances at your newsfeed or Instagram photo stream add up.
Android P has a dashboard that displays what apps you use and for how long, the time of day you use your phone, how many times you unlock it and the number of notifications you receive each day.
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First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.
