Brick’s new app blocker is designed for bedtime doomscrolling
Brick, the company behind the $59 gadget that blocks you from using apps on your phone, has launched a new device that’s designed to help you cut back on doomscrolling in bed. The $129 Brick Night introduces a location-based element: instead of requiring you to tap your phone against the device, like the OG Brick, this version uses Bluetooth to automatically kick in when you enter your bedroom (or any other room you put it in).
The Brick Night uses two CR2477 batteries, and you can set a location zone of up to 25 feet x 25 feet. Both this and the Brick allow you to select specific apps to block instead of rendering your entire phone inaccessible, but the pitch with the Night version is that the blocking happens automatically in the background when you enter the room, and so won’t interrupt or add new steps to your usual bedtime routine.
Brick’s night version also supports multiple users, and each can independently configure their own settings, modes, blocked app selection, time windows, and spaces. Still, the Brick Night is more than twice the price, and because it doesn’t include NFC capabilities, it can’t be used for both location-based and tap-based blocking — which would allow it to replace the original Brick.
