Challenge
Building a screen time management app on iOS presents a unique technical challenge: Apple’s Screen Time and Device Activity APIs are among the most restrictive and least-documented in the iOS ecosystem. When the Onix team began development, official documentation was limited, and much of the required behavior had to be discovered through experimentation and reverse engineering of API responses.
Beyond documentation gaps, the project required coordinating complex logic across a main app and multiple system extensions — each operating in an isolated sandbox with strict memory and execution constraints. The app needed to manage all state locally without a backend, while keeping data fully consistent across components in real time.
Access to the Screen Time API itself required a formal submission to Apple, a detailed written justification of intended use, and a separate approval request for each extension. This process involved multiple review cycles and introduced significant timeline uncertainty — a constraint that required the team to plan architecture and feature scope carefully around regulatory milestones, not just technical ones.
Building a screen time management app on iOS presents a unique technical challenge: Apple’s Screen Time and Device Activity APIs are among the most restrictive and least-documented in the iOS ecosystem. When the Onix team began development, official documentation was limited, and much of the required behavior had to be discovered through experimentation and reverse engineering of API responses.
Beyond documentation gaps, the project required coordinating complex logic across a main app and multiple system extensions — each operating in an isolated sandbox with strict memory and execution constraints. The app needed to manage all state locally without a backend, while keeping data fully consistent across components in real time.
Access to the Screen Time API itself required a formal submission to Apple, a detailed written justification of intended use, and a separate approval request for each extension. This process involved multiple review cycles and introduced significant timeline uncertainty — a constraint that required the team to plan architecture and feature scope carefully around regulatory milestones, not just technical ones.
Solution
Onix built Axion FocuSelf as a fully native iOS application using SwiftUI, DeviceActivity, ManagedSettings, Combine, and UserNotifications — with zero third-party libraries. This decision ensured maximum stability, full compliance with Apple’s guidelines, and long-term maintainability without external dependencies.
The app’s core tracking system uses DeviceActivity to monitor screen time and app usage in real time, collecting both daily and weekly behavioral trends. Background tasks and Combine-powered reactive pipelines deliver continuous updates without significant battery impact.
When a user-defined focus session is active, ManagedSettings automatically blocks selected apps or app categories the moment a usage threshold is reached — enforced with sub-10ms latency. Users who want to exit a session early face an accountability penalty, reinforcing commitment to their own goals.
A gamification layer rewards completed sessions with XP points, streaks, and quest-based achievements, with celebratory animations providing positive reinforcement. All data is stored locally — no backend, no cloud sync, no personal data transmitted or retained beyond 30 days of daily summaries.
The app uses a freemium monetization model, with core features available for free and advanced capabilities behind a subscription. The project now serves as a flagship iOS showcase for Onix’s digital wellbeing and native Apple frameworks expertise.
Onix built Axion FocuSelf as a fully native iOS application using SwiftUI, DeviceActivity, ManagedSettings, Combine, and UserNotifications — with zero third-party libraries. This decision ensured maximum stability, full compliance with Apple’s guidelines, and long-term maintainability without external dependencies.
The app’s core tracking system uses DeviceActivity to monitor screen time and app usage in real time, collecting both daily and weekly behavioral trends. Background tasks and Combine-powered reactive pipelines deliver continuous updates without significant battery impact.
When a user-defined focus session is active, ManagedSettings automatically blocks selected apps or app categories the moment a usage threshold is reached — enforced with sub-10ms latency. Users who want to exit a session early face an accountability penalty, reinforcing commitment to their own goals.
A gamification layer rewards completed sessions with XP points, streaks, and quest-based achievements, with celebratory animations providing positive reinforcement. All data is stored locally — no backend, no cloud sync, no personal data transmitted or retained beyond 30 days of daily summaries.
The app uses a freemium monetization model, with core features available for free and advanced capabilities behind a subscription. The project now serves as a flagship iOS showcase for Onix’s digital wellbeing and native Apple frameworks expertise.
Results
The project delivered both a functional product and a validated internal capability demonstration:
Sub-10ms enforcement latency — app blocking activates virtually instantly when usage limits are reached, eliminating the workarounds common in third-party screen time tools
Full Apple Screen Time API access secured — a significant technical milestone requiring formal submission and multi-cycle review approval for each system extension
Zero third-party dependencies — the entire app runs on native Apple frameworks, ensuring long-term stability and full App Store compliance
Freemium model implemented with subscription infrastructure ready for commercial deployment
The project is now used as a live capability reference for prospective clients evaluating Onix for native iOS product development
The project delivered both a functional product and a validated internal capability demonstration:
Sub-10ms enforcement latency — app blocking activates virtually instantly when usage limits are reached, eliminating the workarounds common in third-party screen time tools
Full Apple Screen Time API access secured — a significant technical milestone requiring formal submission and multi-cycle review approval for each system extension
Zero third-party dependencies — the entire app runs on native Apple frameworks, ensuring long-term stability and full App Store compliance
Freemium model implemented with subscription infrastructure ready for commercial deployment
The project is now used as a live capability reference for prospective clients evaluating Onix for native iOS product development