iPhone trick tells you when the device is too close – it’ll save your eyesight

PEOPLE are just realising a genius iPhone trick that tells you when your holding the device too close to your face.

It’s designed to save your eyesight down the line.

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Apple is very aware of how much consumers use their products on the daily.

Roughly 1.3billion people use an iPhone everyday.

Glare from your iPhone or iPad can cause eye strain, as it stops your eyes from adjusting as easily as they should to the content your trying to consume.

Phone screens and other digital devices generate blue light, which scatters more in the eye and creates more ‘visual noise’.

This is particularly true in dark settings, for the many iPhone owners who are guilty of a late-night scroll.

So, Apple has come up with the Screen Distance feature in iOS 17 to make sure consumers know when they might be damaging their eyesight.

When the feature is switched on and Apple fans hold their device too close, an alert message will appear saying: “Keeping your [device name] at arm’s length can protect your eyesight.”

The feature uses the camera in your iPhone or iPad to determine when a user is holding the device closer than 12 inches from the face for longer than a few minutes.

After which, it prompts users to step back from the device and readjust their eyes.

The feature is switched off by default, according to Apple.

But all users need to do to turn it on is go to Settings > Screen Time > Screen Distance and tap the toggle on the right to turn it on.

It’s similar to the Headphone Safety feature that was introduced in iOS 14 which warns customers when they’re playing their music too loud through their headphones, in a bid to protect people’s ears.

It also builds on Apple’s Night Shift feature, rolled out even earlier in iOS 12, where the iPhone’s screen light automatically transitions from blue light to warm light as evening falls.

Screen Distance is currently only available in the developer betas of iOS 17 and iPadOS 17.

But it is expected to arrive for most iPhone owners in September, when iOS 17 is forecast to roll out in full force.

Make sure your device is eligible for the system upgrade, however, as three types of iPhones are being excluded from this update.

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