Night Shift, True Tone, and Dark Mode are just a few of the useful iOS tools Apple has introduced over the years to better protect your eyes from harm, and iOS 17 will bring yet another eye-related safety feature called Screen Distance.
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Screen Distance will alert you when you're holding your iPhone or iPad Pro too close to your eyes for an extended period of time. Apple says the optional feature is designed to reduce overall eye strain and, most importantly, reduce the risk of nearsightedness in children who use Apple devices regularly.
The recommended distance between your iPhone and your eyes is 40-45 cm (or 16-18 inches). When enabled, Screen Distance will trigger an “iPhone is too close” warning if this distance drops below 30 cm (12 inches). Once you’ve brought your iPhone back within a safe distance, a checkmark will appear on the screen and you can tap “Continue” to continue normally.
Apple 's screen distance warning will also be accompanied by a message that says: "Keeping your phone at arm's length can protect your eyesight." This is similar to the Headphone Safety feature introduced in iOS 14, which warns users about the dangers of prolonged exposure to loud noises when the volume on their iPhone exceeds a certain limit
Once you download iOS 17 to your iPhone later this year, Screen Distance can be enabled by going to Settings and the Screen Time tab. From there, you'll want to toggle the "Screen Distance" slider to the "on" position.
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Apple says Screen Distance will be available on all iPhone and iPad Pro models with Face ID, as the feature uses the same TrueDepth camera that powers Face ID to measure the distance between the screen and your eyes.
iOS 17 isn't expected to be released until September, but Apple's WWDC 2023 keynote gave us an idea of the other features we can expect to see introduced with the company's next major iOS overhaul.
Among the top ten iOS 17 features coming to iPhones in September are a number of iMessage-related upgrades that will bridge the gap between Apple's proprietary messaging service and SMS/RCS. For example, the iOS 17 beta gives iPhone users the ability to edit texts, reply to threads, and send iMessage-quality video in group chats with both iPhone and Android. We expect at least some of these features to make it to the final version of iOS 17.
iOS 17 will also introduce a new Standby mode that turns your iPhone into a smart display similar to the Amazon Echo Show or Google Nest Hub. Additionally, Live Voicemail will let you see—and pause—a live transcript of your calls as your caller records a voicemail message.
There are plenty more confirmed iOS 17 features to get excited about before the update releases later this year, but in the meantime, you can check out what's in iOS 16.5.1.
Information source: techradar.com
