Bloom Card vs. Brick: My verdict after trying both gadgets to cut screen time

pros and cons

Pros

• Better app than Brick.
• Easy app scheduling.
• Lower price.

Cons

• Continued to artifact apps aft my scheduled clip was over.
• Breaks decision the intent of strictly curbing surface time.

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I'm connected way to person spent 16 years of my beingness glued to my telephone screen. That's what Bloom, the latest salve to telephone addiction, tells maine arsenic I make my account. 

16 years. According to my calculations, if I weren't attached to my phone's addictive mechanisms, I could person spent that clip moving 1,700 marathons, grabbing 2,900 cups of java with friends, oregon adding 1 oregon 2 much hours of slumber each night. Instead, I scroll. 

And I'm not alone. 

Also: The basal exemplary Kindle is my concealed limb against doomscrolling - and it's connected sale

As telephone addiction becomes much wide -- and arsenic we larn however societal media keeps america addicted -- much companies are coming up with solutions. Bloom is 1 of those companies that, similar the fashionable Brick, developed a tap-able NFC-enabled paper that creates a carnal bound betwixt the idiosyncratic and their dopamine-triggering device. 

I've been utilizing the Brick since past October and person recovered it to beryllium a straightforward mode to region distractions arsenic I work, leisure, and sleep. But it's not perfect. There are a fewer bugs, and the app is rather minimalist. 

A person of excavation and chap Brick idiosyncratic told maine astir the Bloom Card and gave maine 1 of his own. He said it addresses immoderate of the Brick's flaws, truthful I tested it retired for a fewer weeks. 

Bloom vs. Brick

First things first: the Bloom Card is $39, whereas the Brick is $54. The amended enactment depends connected conscionable however addicted you are to your phone, arsenic I realized aft weeks of testing. 

In essence, the Bloom Card does the aforesaid happening arsenic the Brick. You pat your telephone to it, and it blocks distracting apps. The differences go much evident successful each app's software, arsenic the hardware of an NFC-enabled paper oregon artifact is practically the same. Bloom's app has a amended idiosyncratic experience, though, with a Friends tab, for example, that incorporates societal accountability.

Also: I bricked my iPhone to forestall doomscrolling - and accidentally fixed my life

You commencement by selecting the apps you privation to artifact and creating disabling schedules, a process I deliberation Bloom does better. Bloom has a dedicated tab for creating regimented schedules, with default schedules already created, truthful a batch of the enactment you'd person to bash to enactment successful these schedules connected Brick is already handled for you. 

For example, there's a Morning Zen docket you tin crook connected from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. that I rather like, a Deep Work docket from 10 a.m. to noon, and a Wind Down from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., among others. 

Within each schedule, you tin alteration oregon disable definite apps. If I crook connected Deep Work, I tin alteration societal media apps during the workday (as I usage them for my job) but disable messaging apps, which thin to distract me. For Wind Down, I disable societal media and messaging apps. 

Also: How I turned my regular tablet into a full-fledged e-reader (whether it's an iPad oregon Android)

Ironically, for a instrumentality that's meant to assistance you disengage with your phone, the app was precise engaging. As I mentioned, there's a Friends tab wherever I tin way my absorption clip against my friends. You tin besides spot a Global leaderboard, wherever users are charting their absorption for up to 458 days done Bloom. Lastly, there's the Insights feature, which displays your surface time, regular pickups, and absorption clip done Bloom. 

Why I (temporarily) deleted the app

Nina Raemont/ZDNET

Tapping my telephone to the NFC paper is casual and works reliably. However, an in-app mistake forced maine to delete the app for a fewer days. I enabled the Morning Zen docket 1 morning, and it continued to artifact entree to my apps adjacent aft the 9 a.m. cutoff. 

I did not person the Bloom Card with maine to pat and alteration access, truthful I was locked retired for respective hours, forcing maine to delete the Bloom app to usage these apps. This has happened with the Brick arsenic well, and it seems to beryllium a bug crossed these devices. When I reviewed Brick, I mentioned a akin scheduling bug. 

Also: I recovered 4 tech gadgets that really helped maine slumber amended (and ditch the alarm)

There is 1 happening Bloom has that Brick doesn't: breaks. Bloom allows you 3 five-minute breaks per session, a diagnostic that was large astatine first, but I ended up abusing it each clip I was successful a Bloom session. It made the full constituent of preventing doomscrolling counterproductive. 

This could possibly assistance with idiosyncratic who doesn't person arsenic atrocious a telephone addiction (or much self-control), but considering that the people assemblage of products similar Brick and Bloom are phone-addicted people, it seems similar it could further alteration atrocious habits. 

The Brick is acold stricter, and I anticipation the Brick ne'er offers up breaks due to the fact that of the counter-productivity of this Bloom feature. 

ZDNET's buying advice

So, at $39, is the Bloom worthy it? If you deliberation you won't maltreatment that five-minute interruption feature, I'd urge Bloom implicit Brick. If you are successful dire request of cutting surface time, I'd spell for Brick instead for its somewhat stricter instrumentality and little engaging app.

Bloom does a batch of the enactment of gathering schedules for you to easy enable, but it's a spot much lenient successful ways I find counterproductive for curbing a superior lawsuit of telephone addiction. However, it's the cheaper enactment compared to Brick, truthful I'd inactive urge it to anyone connected a budget.