One UI 8 Watch update now rolling out to the Galaxy Watch Ultra Comments
The update brings new features like Vascular Load, Antioxidant Index and Running Coach.
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5 days ago
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One UI 8 Watch update now rolling out to the Galaxy Watch Ultra Comments
22 July 2025 The update brings new features like Vascular Load, Antioxidant Index and Running Coach.
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18-07-2025
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Too much phone? Why the iPhone 16 Pro Max and S25 Ultra feel overwhelming
Is the first thing you do when you wake up reach for your iPhone 16 Pro Max or your Galaxy S25 Ultra? Do you feel anxious when you're away from your phone? And is scrolling for hours part of your daily routine? You might have a smartphone addiction, but it's not your fault. This is how we used to consume information prior to the Internet revolution | Image by PixaBay When the Internet became a thing back in 1992, people were thrilled by the prospect of accessing all the precious vaults of information the world had gathered over the centuries. It was a revolution that democratized the world in an unprecedented way. This easy access to information led to many totalitarian regimes crumbling, and some of them even falling. Back then, to access this informational wealth, you needed to go to a library or get a desktop computer with a dial-up connection and a modem. People consumed the information pill in small dosages. Fast forward to modern days and the portable terminal we all carry inside our pockets, calling it a smartphone. What it really is and what it's primarily used for is a mobile access point to all the information in the world. And this can be overwhelming. Relentless notifications Not all notifications are important, but we treat every one like an emergency | Image by PixaBay Not only are smartphones connected to all the information in the world at all times, but they also remind you of the fact all the time. Notifications are an essential part of every mobile OS, and most of the apps also rely on constantly firing those at you many times a day. "Have you checked the latest info on so-and-so? You haven't logged your weight or calorie intake. Your friends are missing you on Facebook or Instagram. You haven't posted on TikTok for a while. Get back on!" Your iPhone 16 Pro Max or Galaxy S25 Ultra constantly reminds you of all the things you might be missing out on. This can be detrimental to your mental health. A study from 2016 showed that "smartphone push notifications produced a decline in task performance in the smartphone risk group, exerting a negative influence on cognitive function and concentration." But it gets even worse. Fear of missing out There are so many things going on in the world that you're bound to miss some, don't worry | Image by Ricardo Vargas What these non-stop notifications are doing is slowly conditioning you to be connected to your smartphone. In your mind and thoughts. It's FOMO, or "fear of missing out." Every notification could be something important, a matter of life and death, or a popular topic that you need to stay relevant on in order to fit in. There are many studies (links) on how FOMO affects behavior and mental health, and none of them show any positive impact. One such study showed that "FOMO has been associated with daily-life disruptions, such as distractions during driving. FoMO has also consistently been a predictor of Internet, smartphone, and social network use disorders." I remember canoeing with one of my colleagues on a team building event. The organizers took our phones away and an hour into the event my colleague started worrying about her iPhone 16 Pro Max not being with her. She was genuinely anxious and displayed symptoms similar to abstinence. But again, this behavior is not our fault. The dopamine treadmill Smartphones can be as addictive as smoking | Image by PixaBay Smartphones are addictive by design. This includes the latest flagships as well, your iPhone 16 Pro Max or Galaxy S25 Ultra are no exceptions. The business model of most apps out there is to keep the user occupied at all times. But this also applies to smartphone UIs, it turns out. According to psychiatrist Anna Lembke, Chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic, smartphone use can lead to addiction, and the mechanism is similar to that of gambling, alcohol abuse, and substance addiction. Our brain is wired to reward enjoyable activities with splashes of dopamine—a "feel good" chemical. When you scroll your Instagram feed or you play a mobile game, you receive these splashes of dopamine in your system. The thing is, app engineers know about this mechanism and use it to attract and keep your attention. The infinite scroll feature that most short formats have is one tool in this strategy. Just like how the casinos lack any clocks to show you the time, infinite scroll has no end. 'If I take the bottom out of the glass, you don't know when to stop drinking,' comments Tristan Harris, a former Google design ethicist who co-founded the Center for Humane Technology. The "pull to refresh" feature that many smartphone UIs have also exploits a mechanism similar to gambling. In pathological gamblers, uncertainty drives bigger dopamine spikes than money. It's the same when users refresh an app or a service, expecting new content. Finally, smartphone operating systems and UIs are designed to trigger maximum arousal in dopamine receptors with bright colors, big and flashy animations, and also sounds. The latest iOS 26 on your iPhone 16 Pro Max is a clear example, the same goes for One UI and the Galaxy S25 Ultra . What to do? Go out and do something fun! | Image by PixaBay "Okay, we get it—smartphones are bad," you might be thinking. But what are the steps to mitigate some of the potential damage? Surely, in our day and age it's not realistic to give up using your smartphone altogether. Here are some steps you can take to lower your risk of smartphone addiction and take care of your mental health and well-being. No screens for the first hour of the day. This might be hard at first, especially due to the fact most people use their smartphone as an alarm clock. But postponing smartphone exposure by just an hour gives the brain time to wake up properly and break that dopamine addiction cycle. Turn off all non-essential notifications. Most mobile OSs give you the ability to tailor the notifications you receive. Maybe that online game pinging you to come back and play or check the daily reward isn't that important after all? Remove the distractions and leave only what's truly important. Take a day off from your smartphone. Experts suggest up to a month of abstinence, but if that's not possible, even a day away from your smartphone can reset some of those rewarding pathways. Take care of your eyes—20 minutes break per hour. You've probably heard of this one before, tied to other screen usage. It's even more important when it comes to smartphones because focusing on small screens that are close to your eyes for an extended period of time can be really detrimental to your eyesight. Do analog things. We know this sounds strange, but doing things in the real world and not on a screen, inside a virtual one, is much more healthy and rewarding as well. Go out with friends, go on a hike, find a hobby, exercise, or play sports—these are all great ways to break the unhealthy bond with your smartphone.
Phone Arena
16-07-2025
- Phone Arena
Apple Watch quietly unlocks powerful health feature in more countries
Apple's health-focused features are now expanding with the rollout of sleep apnea detection on Apple Watch to Australian users. A new watchOS update is bringing the feature to users in Australia. Sleep apnea detection is a data-driven respiratory monitoring feature, and is available for the Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and the Apple Watch Ultra 2. This new feature joins a growing suite of health tools on Apple Watch that are already available in over 150 countries and regions: the US, EU, and Japan. Apple's "Sleep Apnea Notifications" feature relies on the timepiece's accelerometer and tracks subtle wrist movements, which it tags as Breathing Disturbances. It gauges interruptions in breathing patterns. Sleep apnea detection. | Image Credit - Apple Every night, these readouts are collected and combined, and then they are visible in the Health app on your iPhone. Elevated breathing disturbances are flagged over a 30-day check period. Apple says that the feature uses machine learning models trained with nearly 4,000 nights of clinical-grade sleep data, which was collected from over 2,100 participants. Meanwhile, a validation study confirmed that the people that the sleep apnea algorithm identified all had at least mild sleep apnea. Basically, you will receive a notification if your Apple Watch detects consistent signs of moderate or severe sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a common condition in which your breathing may stop and restart many times during your sleep. This can cause you not to get enough oxygen. The notification you may get from your Apple Watch will give you information about the period when it happened. Of course, as with any health-related Apple Watch (or other Watches too) feature at the moment, it is not to be used for a diagnostic tool, and always, when you have doubts about your health, you should seek medical advice. I personally think that adding sleep apnea detection to the Apple Watch is a really meaningful upgrade. It's impressive how far wearables have come: from counting steps to now potentially flagging serious sleep conditions. I love seeing tech being used in ways that support long-term health, not just fitness tracking. Secure your connection now at a bargain price! We may earn a commission if you make a purchase Check Out The Offer
