Screen time doesn’t match actual use

I have not come across an official definition of "pickup" in Screen Time by Apple, but based on what I have discovered, a pickup likely occurs when you interact with your device in a way that suggests intentional use.

In the context of Apple's Screen Time settings, a "pickup" is generally defined as an instance where the device is physically picked up or moved, leading to its screen being turned on. This can happen when you unlock the device, view notifications, or even when it's picked up without unlocking due to notifications appearing on the lock screen.

Now, concerning the odd pickup times you've observed, there could be several reasons for this:

1. As you mentioned, urgent notifications or other alerts can cause the screen to turn on even when the phone is on the charger.
2. Certain background processes, updates, or maintenance tasks could lead to the screen being activated.
3. Unlocking the screen: This is the most definitive action.

I’ve been told by Apple Support the screen time issue is a known bug affecting some iPhones. Support said a future update will resolve the issue.

Refer to the list of Categories listed below and pic 1 where Category Serial No. 1 (Social), 7 (Reading), and 12 (Others) are shown Blue, Aqua, and Orange

In this case (Pic 1), all other categories serial nos. 2,3,4,5,6,8,9,10 and 11 are Grey

Pic 1

Look at the pic 2 below a cut-out view of a screen from an earlier old post

Pic 2

Total Screen Time is a+b+c

*** There are 12 board level Categories in Screen Time

1. Social Networking: FaceBook, Hangout, Instagram
2. Games: Scrabble, PUBG, Sudoku
3. Entertainment: TV, Music, YouTube, Netflix
4. Creativity: Photos, Camera, Google Photos
5. Productivity: Shortcuts, Mailk
6. Education: SkyView, Learn Python
7. Information & Reading: Wikipedia, Magzter, Weather, Kindle, NDTV
8. Health & Fitness: Journal, Tata 1mg, HeartRate Pro, Activity
9. Utilities: App Store, Measure, Truecaller, Calculator
10. Shopping and Food: Amazon, BigBasket, Shell Asia
11. Travel: Apple Maps, Google Maps, FlightAware, Booking.com, Uber
12. Others: Pinterest, iTunes Store, Kia Connect

The graph displays the top 3 (Time used by the user) category legends on the X-axis. Anything other than these legend categories is a Grey bar in the graph

Pic 3

For example:

If the user has used Games, Entertainment & Others category apps for the maximum time during a period then the graph will show these three categories in the X axis as legends and the remaining categories will be shown in Grey Colour.

The GIF below will illustrate the graph from 3 iOS devices

iPhone 6 iOS 12.4.5

iPhone SE iOS 13.3.1

iPad Pro 9.7" Wifi+Cellular iOS 13.3.1

GIF 1

You’re welcome and happy holidays!