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Buried Apple feature turns an iPhone into the perfect kids' dumb phone

wired.com

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Re: Buried Apple feature turns an iPhone into the perfect kids' dumb phone

#151

Post by Marsymars »

Aurornis wrote: post #134
Marsymars wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you think these imaginary laws would only apply to Facebook and TikTok We can literally write "these laws apply only apply to Facebook and TikTok" into the laws. Or base it on sites that have advertising. Products/services that are targeted to minors shouldn't be permitted to have advertisements anyway. I don't find "We've done a bad job with X so we should abandon X rather than attempting to do X better" to be…

> We can literally write "these laws apply only apply to Facebook and TikTok" into the laws. I don’t find it useful to imagine laws like this. This isn’t what happens in real law making. I’m talking about real, actual laws that are getting passed. It’s not going to be perfectly targeted at websites you don’t use while leaving everything you like free, open, and privacy preserving. It’s really important that we’re bei…

The DMA designated gatekeepers seems to be pretty well-targeted as a real law that's currently on the books.

It applies solely to Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft.

Re: Buried Apple feature turns an iPhone into the perfect kids' dumb phone

#152

Post by Cider9986 »

binkHN wrote: post #146
Cider9986 wrote: post #6

Mobile Device Management (MDM) is the only effective way to restrict idevices. All you need is a macbook and Apple Configurator. You can remove safari, blacklist or whitelist websites, block installing apps, block deleting apps. It's really customizable. Edit: expanded acronym.

> All you need is a macbook Is it really not possible to do this with a non-Apple machine?

Not afaict.

Re: Buried Apple feature turns an iPhone into the perfect kids' dumb phone

#153

Post by hapticmonkey »

pugworthy wrote: post #13

This might be just the thing for my elderly mother. She's used an iPhone for many many years, but struggles lately with motor dexterity, vision, and a bit of cognitive challenge making phone usage difficult. Lots of things I'd like to just hide she doesn't need to get to (like Settings).

Just a reminder to anyone reading that accessibility features are not just for other people but they are for our future selves. Growing old, getting injured etc are things that will happen to us all.

Going to go and give my mum a call now!

Re: Buried Apple feature turns an iPhone into the perfect kids' dumb phone

#154

Post by msftgreed »

This is a great example of the curb cut effect -- a system designed for accessibility needs turns out to be useful in other contexts. Curb cuts were designed for people with disabilities, particularly veterans, and over time have become more and more standard. They help people who use wheelchairs, yes, but also people without disabilities like those with strollers, bikes, luggage, or small kids.

We love to see accessibility features find uses outside their original intent.

Re: Buried Apple feature turns an iPhone into the perfect kids' dumb phone

#155

Post by msftgreed »

Triphibian wrote: post #54

I keep observing that accessibility features often contain the tools we need to make our devices and apps more humane. This is one area that video games have been way ahead on.

Videogames are generally lagging WAY behind the rest of software. I've worked professionally in accessibility and in AAA game studios.

There's a lot of movement in games over the past 5-10 years, so there's a lot more visibility into a11y there, but in general that industry still has catching up to do. What you are seeing is higher interest and velocity there, and given some time they'll definitely catch up with the slower iteration cycles in mobile and web a11y, but I guarantee you the story is much richer on the web (in particular) than it is in games.

Re: Buried Apple feature turns an iPhone into the perfect kids' dumb phone

#156

Post by msftgreed »

citizenpaul wrote: post #12

>Yes, it's odd that Apple doesn't train all its store staff on this laudable feature, but it's baffling that it doesn't shout about how good Assistive Access is for making a kid's dumb phone. My guess is that its a bad look for PR to essentially say that a feature designed for disability assistance = children.

Do you use curb cuts? Closed captions? Difficulty sliders in games? An electric toothbrush? Audible crosswalk signals?

All of those have significant roots in accessibility for people with disabilities. I guarantee you that the people who invented them would be thrilled to see them have widespread adoption for all populations.

If something finds use in addition to its use for disability amelioration, it becomes more widespread and normalized. When it's wider spread and normalized, it becomes easier for people with disabilities to know it's available and to use it without stigma.

So no, you've got it entirely backwards I'm afraid. We do not think about assistive technology as something for people with disabilities. We think about it as something that helps people, and if it helps more people, even better.

Re: Buried Apple feature turns an iPhone into the perfect kids' dumb phone

#157

Post by phyzome »

That's a bad use of a very expensive phone. Get an actual dumb phone that's vastly cheaper.

> what if he gets lost?

Then he can look at street signs, ask someone nearby for directions, or (and this is an option I didn't have as a kid)... call someone. On the phone. That he has.

Re: Buried Apple feature turns an iPhone into the perfect kids' dumb phone

#158

Post by Aurornis »

Marsymars wrote: post #151
Aurornis wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We can literally write "these laws apply only apply to Facebook and TikTok" into the laws. I don’t find it useful to imagine laws like this. This isn’t what happens in real law making. I’m talking about real, actual laws that are getting passed. It’s not going to be perfectly targeted at websites you don’t use while leaving everything you like free, open, and privacy preserving. It’s really important that we’re bei…

The DMA designated gatekeepers seems to be pretty well-targeted as a real law that's currently on the books. It applies solely to Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft.

Going by that list, YouTube and GitHub would be impacted. They have social features and primarily host user-generated content.

Imagining that these laws will be precisely written to avoid any services you like is a dangerous fallacy. That's how people rationalize bad laws.

Remember when all of the surveillance laws were only going to target the terrorists? Look how far that drifted.

Re: Buried Apple feature turns an iPhone into the perfect kids' dumb phone

#159

Post by asdff »

kspacewalk2 wrote: post #117
laweijfmvo wrote: post #103

I discovered and tried to use this feature to turn an older iPhone into a dumb phone for myself, but hit several blockers 1. It’s incredibly slow to transition in and out of the mode, as mentioned in the article, which made setting it up (constant tweaks) very painful 2. For messages and calls, you were limited to select contacts only. So I couldn’t just text/call a number when I needed to. They may have polished the…

#2 seems like a feature, not a bug. I certainly don't want my 11 year old texting/calling unapproved numbers, way too young for that.

The kids going to be driving a car in 3 years...

Re: Buried Apple feature turns an iPhone into the perfect kids' dumb phone

#160

Post by mc3301 »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #122
Forgeties79 wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They’re talking about the relative ineffectiveness of prohibition when it comes to teenagers. Generally speaking, they’re right. And the implication is therefore “don’t just blanket ban your way through screen time restrictions.” It’s a bit more nuanced than “one can get around the rules.

Yup. I think American culture is broadly too permissive with under-14s and too restrictive with over-14s (but under-21s).

I told my elementary-age child that they can have a phone when they are old enough to sneakily buy one without me knowing.
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