How Apple's Latest Update Will Help You Spend Less Time On Your Phone

Last week, Apple revealed the features of its latest software update, iOS 12.

The focus? Getting us to spend less time on our phones, not more - for the sake of our own wellbeing.

Here are the main new features you'll be able to enjoy when the changes are rolled out later this autumn.

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Observe how much time you're spending on your phone

The new update will have a 'Screen Time' section which will reveal how many hours you've actually spent on your phone in the form of daily and weekly activity reports. The reports will be broken down into where you've spent most of your time, be it games, entertainment or social media.

"With Screen Time, these new tools are empowering users who want help managing their device time and balancing the many things that are important to them," Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering Craig Federighi said in a statement.

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Set limits on certain apps

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As part of the new update, users will not only be able to monitor how much time they've spent on certain apps but also set limits to how much time per day they will allow themselves to invest in them. The user can set the limit which prompts a notification to pop up when it's about to be reached. The theory is that monitoring the hours spent on social networking might actually spur users into being more mindful of how their day is spent.

This article originally appeared on Harper's BAZAAR US.