How it works
All the music boxes work the same way: first the start screen, for the parents; then the play time, for the child.
When you open it
The music box checks that everything is ready. It takes a few seconds: you see the title and the music box, still.
The first time
A short help for parents. It also asks your permission to know whether a Focus mode is on, so it can warn you.
The notices
If needed, a few notices: Guided Access, Focus, before putting the baby to sleep, Reduce Motion or headphones. Each one has OK and "Don't show this again". They never block anything: they warn you and the music box carries on.
The magic animation
A finger taps the music box and the music box spins: that's how it shows you how it works. It repeats until you tap "Start". Next to it there is the "Don't show this again" box. In the baby music boxes there is no finger: the music box just spins.
If you have turned it off, the music box's theme tune plays (about 15 seconds) and play time starts by itself. And if you chose "Go straight to play", the start screen lasts just a few seconds, in silence.
The settings
In this last moment of the start screen (the magic animation, the theme tune or the wait) you'll see the Settings icon: double-tap it. When you leave, play time starts. If you leave the app while on the start screen, it starts again when you come back.
Play time
It's the entertainment. The songs play one after another, never the same one twice in a row, and a picture moves slowly. Every now and then the picture and its movement change: each one repeats a few times, because small children love repetition. The music and the picture each go their own way.
In the baby music boxes, touching the screen does nothing. In those for older children, tapping the picture changes it.
How it ends
It lasts the time you chose. At the end, the "Goodbye": a picture of a sleeping child that slowly fades to dark while the music fades out. After that, the music box does nothing.
How to stop it
Double-tap the Exit button (small, top right): it stops at once. With the device locked, also from the music controls on the lock screen.
If something happens
- If you leave the app: depending on the routine, the music carries on or pauses. When you come back, it continues with a new song and picture; if it had paused, the time away doesn't count.
- A call or an alarm: the music box goes quiet and carries on when they end.
- With headphones: it doesn't play. When you unplug them, it carries on.
The routines
A routine splits the session into stretches. Each stretch says whether pictures are shown or the screen stays dark, how calm the music box is and the volume. Stretches are parts of the session, not minutes: they work the same with any duration, and one turns into the next gently.
There is always one chosen; by default, Free:
- Free: the whole session the same, with pictures, normal calm and volume.
- Bath and bed: half with pictures, a quarter calmer, and the last quarter dark, with the volume at its lowest.
- Just bed: the whole session dark, with the volume at its lowest.
- Stroll: half calm and half very calm, with the volume at its highest, for the street noise.
Each routine also says whether the music carries on when you leave the app or the screen locks. You choose the routine in the settings.