Whether it's Samsung, Apple, or Google, everyone is working on ways to get people to use smartphones less. Look at your screen less, enjoy the real-world more. Essentially be present in our real lives more than our digital ones. And while Google's Digital Wellbeing mode is awesome and available on the 7 Pro, OnePlus added their own special touch that's pretty impressive.
Zen Mode is a powerful feature thought up by a fan on the OnePlus Community forum, and it's basically Do-Not-Disturb mode on steroids. When enabled, nearly every aspect of the phone becomes unusable for 20 minutes. Personally, that's not a very long break, but a break is a break. And when OnePlus says every feature gets turned off -- they mean it. You CANNOT override Zen Mode if you change your mind. Even if you don't have any self-control, the software does. Once activated, you have to wait 20 minutes before using your phone again. And no, you can't restart the phone to get around it because I tried. It sticks through a reboot. We love this and honestly wouldn't mind if they added a "dinner mode" where you'll be able to have a 30-minute break to have dinner interrupted.
Keep in mind that a few important features are still available during Zen Mode. You can still take photos or videos, and if you really need to make an emergency phone call, the phone will let you. Obviously. |