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The science behind an iPhone dumb phone

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Re: The science behind an iPhone dumb phone

#61

Post by seba_dos1 »

nottorp wrote: post #42
seba_dos1 wrote: post #12

iPhone is already dumb. It's a toy that's not within the control of its user, and Android is only marginally better. I'm using GNU/Linux on my phone and while it offers me the power of a full unrestricted computing device in my pocket, it only ever distracts me with things I explicitly opted into. Despite of some of its shortcomings, it really ends up being a much calmer and more usable experience overall.

Tbh it's much easier to turn off all notifications on iOS than other platforms. But say, what happened to Ubuntu? I haven't used desktop linux in quite a few years (in spite of doing headless linux projects 2/3 of the time), now I have a project that requires that I see the desktop and it feels... spammy. What's with all those notifications and auto downloading of updates? Do they want to remind me why my main deskto…

> it's much easier to turn off all notifications on iOS than other platforms.

...and much harder to make it notify in exactly the way you want, to make it run what you want, to customize system behaviors. Taming user-hostile applications is a completely different experience to running things that aren't hostile in the first place.

> But say, what happened to Ubuntu?

tbh it completely left my mind about a decade ago. I don't see any reason to use it over, say, Debian these days.

Re: The science behind an iPhone dumb phone

#62

Post by em500 »

littlecranky67 wrote: post #34
cocoflunchy wrote: post #18

I have in my backlogs of projects (one day I will have time for them...) an extreme "dumb smartphone". I want to have maps, whatsapp, chatgpt, a document scanner, my banking app, a guitar tuner... these are tools. So I need both an app whitelist (there are only so many apps that I actually use on my phone) and a website blacklist (no more HN, reddit, twitter, facebook, news websites, etc). I can use those on my compu…

An iPhone has this (not widely-known) feature already: Assistive Access Mode [0]. It is meant for elderly or people with disabilities. You can specify which apps to show in a simple grid, no access to any settings and dumbed down rights for the apps. Exiting the assistive access mode requires a 4-digit PIN. You can ask a friend to set the pin for you and write it down on a piece of paper store it in a safe space, or…

You don't need Assistive Access Mode, even without parental control or another iCloud account you can disable pretty much any app (including Safari and App Store) via Screen Time -> Content & Privacy Restrictions.

You do indeed need a trusted person to set a Screen Time Passcode and keep it safe.

Re: The science behind an iPhone dumb phone

#63

Post by ashu1461 »

robertlagrant wrote: post #7

I've uninstalled all social media, which is the main notifications hook. I really think the power of apps is in notifications, and it's best to cut them out. If I want to see a Tweet or a Facebook post, probably because someone I know on Whatsapp sent me it, I'll use the website. I don't want to be dragged in by notifications. Anyone else the same?

I have often noticed that doing just thing is not enough, time and beyond there would be new apps that you end up installing, some notifications that you can not disable would end up consuming your bandwidth.

Re: The science behind an iPhone dumb phone

#64

Post by nunez »

robertlagrant wrote: post #27
rob74 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agree 100%! It's really annoying how games (yeah, I confess, I installed a "free-to-play" game recently, I should have known better) and over-gamified apps (looking at you Duolingo) want to "engage" you by flooding you with notifications. "You're back at full hearts, use Duolingo now!" "Only 00:59 left to continue your streak!" (with a live countdown in the notification no less) and so on...

That's a good example. Duolingo really left me with a bad taste. All the silly emails enticing me to come back seemed so manipulative.

For sure. I turned off Duolingo's notifications within two minutes of installing it. Great app otherwise!

Re: The science behind an iPhone dumb phone

#65

Post by nottorp »

seba_dos1 wrote: post #61
nottorp wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tbh it's much easier to turn off all notifications on iOS than other platforms. But say, what happened to Ubuntu? I haven't used desktop linux in quite a few years (in spite of doing headless linux projects 2/3 of the time), now I have a project that requires that I see the desktop and it feels... spammy. What's with all those notifications and auto downloading of updates? Do they want to remind me why my main deskto…

> it's much easier to turn off all notifications on iOS than other platforms. ...and much harder to make it notify in exactly the way you want, to make it run what you want, to customize system behaviors. Taming user-hostile applications is a completely different experience to running things that aren't hostile in the first place. > But say, what happened to Ubuntu? tbh it completely left my mind about a decade ago.…

> ...and much harder to make it notify in exactly the way you want

Disagree here. Might be because I just turn off all notifications. Basically I answer 'no' on the first run of any new app.

> to make it run what you want

Agree. The EU may force them to accept proper sideloading one day, but this is a topic for another flame war.

Re: The science behind an iPhone dumb phone

#66

Post by valicord »

em500 wrote: post #56

There is no science behind this, and the article spends far too many words for something that's very simple to accomplish: 1. Hard reset your iPhone 2. Remove Safari and AppStore (via Settings -> Screentime restrictions -> Content & Privacy Restrictions) and have someone trusted set a Screen Time password. That's all. You still have weather reports, agendas, alarm clocks, maps, translators, phone+messenger, email, a…

Do you really need a $600 device for this?

Re: The science behind an iPhone dumb phone

#67

Post by nunez »

This is great advice but mostly ineffectual without addressing the root of the problem here. Phone apps are designed to be addicting, and that addiction has been socially normalized (I.e. it's totallly normal to momentarily zone out and browse Instagram on your phone while out with friends).

Re: The science behind an iPhone dumb phone

#68

Post by em500 »

valicord wrote: post #66
em500 wrote: post #56

There is no science behind this, and the article spends far too many words for something that's very simple to accomplish: 1. Hard reset your iPhone 2. Remove Safari and AppStore (via Settings -> Screentime restrictions -> Content & Privacy Restrictions) and have someone trusted set a Screen Time password. That's all. You still have weather reports, agendas, alarm clocks, maps, translators, phone+messenger, email, a…

Do you really need a $600 device for this?

You don't, a $150 refurbished iPhone SE is fine for this, so you're saving both time and money :)

Re: The science behind an iPhone dumb phone

#69

Post by pcdoodle »

Luc wrote: post #47
subjectsigma wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On iOS, go to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Color Filters > Greyscale and then adjust the intensity level as needed. I think that's what you're asking for? I don't know how to do it on macOS but I'm sure if it's possible, Google knows

Yup, on macOS there's an adjustable greyscale filter under Accessibility > Display in System Settings.

A+ Thank you

Re: The science behind an iPhone dumb phone

#70

Post by pcdoodle »

subjectsigma wrote: post #14
pcdoodle wrote: post #11

Why is it impossible to reduce color saturation on all apple products? I still like a slight hint of color context but don't want these CASINO looking MacOS and iOS experiences.

On iOS, go to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Color Filters > Greyscale and then adjust the intensity level as needed. I think that's what you're asking for? I don't know how to do it on macOS but I'm sure if it's possible, Google knows

Thank you. I missed the slider.
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