technology news: Your OnePlus phone will now reward you for completing digital detox challenges

mardi 1 octobre 2019

Your OnePlus phone will now reward you for completing digital detox challenges

OnePlus 7 zen mode

OnePlus is pushing out a new update to Zen Mode, its dedicated digital wellbeing application on OxygenOS. This update (version 1.4.o) is now available on the OnePlus 7 series of phones. It hasn't yet trickled down to our OnePlus 6 and 6T units, even though Zen Mode is available for the OnePlus 5 and higher.

We were able to access the new update on the OnePlus 7 though and it brings with it a bunch of motivational challenges for OnePlus user.

The first one is a 21-day Zen Transformation challenge which requires you to use Zen Mode for 21 consecutive days. No, you don't have to cut yourself off from the world for almost a month. OnePlus just wants you to switch off for a few hours everyday.

You will have to set a daily time frame for Zen Mode to be enabled. Once set, the time frame cannot be changed. If you put down your phone during this window, for 21 straight days, you will win yourself a special medal as an achievement.

OnePlus bases its 21-day transformation challenge on a common belief that it takes 21 days to develop a habit.

Other than the the 21-day challenge, the updated Zen Mode also offers seven-day and 14-day challenges. You will have to sleep early for either seven or 14 days consecutively to complete the challenges. If you manage to turn the lights off early, you get a medal.

OnePlus is going to introduce another one of these successive Zen Mode challenges soon, at least by the looks of the screenshot above. Check the "Coming Soon" hexagon with a question mark.

Besides adding these digital detox challenges, Zen Mode also gets some UI optimisations and bug fixes in this update.

Beyond Zen Mode

OnePlus' Zen Mode is just one of the many apps available out there to help you cut off from the virtual world. One of the most coveted apps out there, besides Google's own Digital Wellbeing features baked into Android, is ActionDash.

The ActionDash app gets all the same features as Google's Digital Wellbeing, and then some. You can download the Android app here.

Alternatively, Facebook and Instagram also now allow you to check how much time you spend on the apps. You can go into the settings of each social media app to access your activity details, including time spent on the apps.