This New Apple iOS 17 Feature Is A Blessing For Parents: How To Turn On 'Screen Distance' For Safer Viewing

Smartphone OEMs have been marketing features aimed at “well-being” for quite a while, with many being gimmicks and some helping users reduce their screen time or even boost their productivity. Apple Inc AAPL has been at the forefront of the digital well-being parade and has brought some handy features with the iOS 17 Beta.

Enter Apple's latest update: iOS 17, designed with a nod towards optical health. The newest feature is aptly titled “Screen Distance.”

See Also: ​​Privacy Nightmare: Microsoft Will Store All Your Bing Chats If You Are A Non-Enterprise User

What happened: The “Screen Distance” feature reduces the potential eye strain from holding the device too close. It gives users a gentle reminder about safe viewing distances, helping minimize the risk of vision-related issues. 

Let's dive into how you can enable this feature and give your eyes the protection they deserve.

How to Turn On ‘Screen Distance' in iOS 17:

1. Unlock your iPhone and navigate to the main ‘Settings' app.
2. Scroll down and tap on ‘Screen Time'.
3. Within the Screen Time menu, locate and select ‘Screen Distance.'
4. Toggle the switch to ‘On' or green to enable the feature.

Once activated, your iPhone will periodically assess the distance between the screen and your eyes. If the device deems it too close for comfort, you'll receive a warning to adjust your viewing distance, ensuring both the clarity of content and the health of your eyes.

Why is it important: The ‘Screen Distance’ feature in iOS 17 is a noteworthy addition as it’s designed to protect children’s developing eyes from potential myopia and reduce digital eye strain experienced by youngsters and the elderly. This simple feature promotes optical health among users, especially children and older people.

Check out more of Benzinga's Consumer Tech coverage by following this link.

Read Next: Apple Reverts A Significant Change For iPhone Users In The Latest iOS 17 Beta Update

Photo by Kaspars Grinvalds on Shutterstock