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Google Releases ‘Envelope’ To Dumb Down Your Smartphone For Your Well-Being
By Izza Sofia, 23 Jan 2020
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Google has a solution to curb technological distraction in our daily lives.
The company has released a new app called ‘Envelope’, which comes with a phone-sized paper cutout—designed together with design and invention consultancy Special Projects—that forces people to part with their phones.
When the app is activated, it turns the phone display into a simple call screen with numbers that can be used to call another phone or activate speed dial.
Users are then encouraged to place their phones inside an envelope template that has numbers printed on the outside. This envelope can be downloaded, printed and assembled at home.
Google encourages users to seal their phones in the envelope and shut it with glue. Another alternative version allows the user to take photos and videos when ‘Envelope’ is activated.
This version has cutouts in the back that are designed for rear-facing sensors and two buttons in the front-facing screen. Users would have to rip their phones out of the envelope if they wished to use them again.
According to Google, the idea of this tool is to provide an affordable and simple way of coping with the constant distraction a phone can bring to one’s lives.
“Many people feel that they spend too much time on their phones and struggle to find a balance with technology,” Google wrote in a blogpost.
“We have designed a series of special paper envelopes which completely transform the functionality of your smartphone for the time it is sealed inside, allowing you to enjoy fewer distractions for a while,” it added.
‘Envelope’ is currently available for the Pixel 3a and can be downloaded in the Google Play store.
[via Google Envelope, images via Google Envelope]
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