[NewsPoster]

This is only in the new beta release of iOS 9.3, which means that it is not on your iPhone, unless you went to a little trouble to get it. However, it's going to be on your iPhone shortly, and we are covering the beta of this one feature of the not-so-small point update from iOS 9.2 to 9.3 because we can't wait. Night Shift is good for you -- and like many things that are good for you, you're going to hate it.

You will at first. Guaranteed. The moment you switch this on you're going to think ewww, and go to switch it right back off again. Resist. Take a breath, take a break, let it lie on your iPhone for a while, and there is a strong chance that you'll totally change your mind. More, if you do come to like Night Shift, then you're likely to find getting to sleep easier.

That's not because it's boring, though since it takes one tap to get it going and maybe an entire second's thinking about whether you want it to work automatically or not, there isn't a great deal to get your teeth into here.

Only, Night Shift is not about your teeth, it's about your eyes. Right now your iPhone -- or any smartphone -- pumps out a very cold blue display. It might as well have been manufactured to get into our heads, because that light is enough to make it harder for you to get sleep after you've been staring for a long time. Switch on Night Shif,t and instead of a cold blue, the display turns a warm brown.

It is revolting. Seriously, you'll wince at the difference, and no photographs we could take convey even a fraction of the ugliness of this brown screen. Except, you can't deny that it makes a difference. Possibly it's just that we couldn't bear looking at that brown screen any longer -- what is this, a Zune? -- so we put the phone down earlier. However, when we did put it down and when we did later pick it up, we couldn't even see the difference.

Chiefly because it had switched off again. The default for Night Shift is that it is off all the time. If you choose to switch it on, you can do that with a flick, and you can also drag a slider to control exactly how muddy brown it gets. Or you can set a schedule. Tell it to deal with this from Sunset to Sunrise, and your iPhone will know the time, it will gently segue you from the cold blue to the warm brown as the night goes on. Or you can set any other times you need.

We don't think you'll do that: sunrise to sunset makes sense, setting any other specific times feels pointless. However, it's up to you, and so is how long you leave this feature switched on at all.

We'd be remiss if we didn't mention that Apple was, well, perhaps allegedly inspired by an app called F.lux, which did something very similar to this until Apple asked the makers not to for iOS, since it violates a rule for third-party developers that they can't tinker with the hardware, plus the only way to load the program was to do a "side-load" that opens up all kinds of security issues. However, we'd be more remiss if we didn't repeat that brown is horrible.

Night Shift requires iOS 9.3 which at time of writing is only in beta form. You can get it now by signing up to be a beta tester but it isn't worth it for this. Just wait a few weeks, at most, until it's on your iPhone naturally. Spend the time bracing yourself.

Who is Night Shift in iOS 9 for:
Insomniacs or anyone who fondly remembers the 1970s and its overuse of brown, or those old sepia photographs.

Who is Night Shift in iOS 9 not for:
Anyone who likes to light up their bedroom with the glow of their iPhone screen bouncing off their eyes.

-- William Gallagher (@WGallagher)

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[sibeale1]

I'm a born-again skeptic, so I don't think this does anything for or against my sleep cycle/circadian rhythm/winter depression, etc. However, I do like it because sometimes I wake my iPhone in my dark bedroom, and with the new feature I'm not presented with an over-bright, glaring screen. I'll keep this feature. Thanks, Apple.

[Steve Wilkinson]

@ sibeale1 -

You don't have to be a skeptic... there is good deal of research out there on it. (I think the f.lux website has some of the article linked in their response). Leading health/fitness/nutrition proponent Shawn Stevenson also has an excellent book on the topic called, Sleep Smarter.

But, if you start looking into it, it's actually WAY worse than just not getting to sleep quite as well. It's linked as a core factor to most of our health ailments and well-being, including cancer. So, it is *absolutely* something you want to take seriously, and I think a shame that Apple waited (and resisted) so long given their seeming concern over health lately.

[sidewaysdesign]

Such welcome news! No more jailbreaking iOS devices to install f.lux.

That said, I hope Apple's implementation takes advantage of light-sensing to adjust the degree of colour-shifting. It's the one annoying thing about f.lux.

When you're in a bright room and it happens to be late, the colouration looks odd. With no frame of reference (e.g. in a dim or dark room), however, the shifted palette is fine.

For late night browsing/reading, however, the colour really doesn't matter that much.

[bobolicious]

I wish they would fix contact search which hangs for me after 3 or 4 letter entries... It didn't do that in iOS 8...

MacOS & iOS have become such a ^%#^! bag of hurt...

...every day there are issues with email, itunes, contact - all the most basic crap - let the macnn admin flames begin... (vested interests notwithstanding)

the Apple annual treadmill and forcing new hardware/applecare to essentially use beta os has become UNTENABLE - an Applestore rep advised yesterday that moving backwards is NOT recommended, so when do I get my email, contacts & iTunes back?

When?

[Mike Wuerthele]

What vested interests would these be, Bob?

Seems to me, that if Apple is as broken as you experience for everybody, we'd have a lot more to write about. We're about the ONLY mac-centric news place that calls them out on things. Do you remember any SSD testing, or iTunes examination anywhere else? Who led the charge on DiscoveryD?

[Charles Martin]

Yes, we do periodically get reports that start from the assumption that any problem a user encounters is a standard feature of the given OS, even though in fact it's not widely reported or reproducible, and that said problem was designed by Apple solely to annoy users.

[Steve Wilkinson]

@ Charles -

No, most of us have just moved on where we can. I stopped using Apple Mail a year or two ago, as it was no longer a usable product. I moved my wife off of it a couple months back, as she was complaining too much as well. It's a core product that has been horribly broken FOR YEARS.

Or, maybe bobolicious is just on a bit older device, where even typing in iOS is a laggy affair.

While I think you guys do a pretty good job of reporting on things, yes, even the problems... IMO, there is a rose-colored lens involved in the tone of the reporting, especially when some of us are, IMO, rightly critical of Apple.

That said, that was a pretty off-topic outburst there bobolicious. Apple deserves praise in this regard for *finally* taking our health seriously after years of being blind to it. F.lux was a big reason people considered jailbreaking (I came close a couple of times). And, while I don't support how Apple went about this, I'm really glad we're getting it.

[DiabloConQueso]

f.lux was denied for breaking one of the core rules of iOS development, which is "don't rely on undocumented APIs."

Giving developers open access to APIs that affect system-wide functionality such as the screen's color temperature is a dumb idea. There's good reasons Apple keeps those APIs unavailable, even beyond the standard, "Apple is just being a dick!"

I've been adjusting my monitor's color and color temperature using both hardware and software to match ambient lighting and time-of-day, as well as to account for eye strain and general fatigue, for over 20 years (as has anyone who works/ed in the photography or printing industry); f.lux is nothing new or unique (just accessible and popular).

What's not to support about how Apple went about this? What do you want them to do, pay f.lux for an idea that isn't even theirs to begin with? Give the developers of f.lux "special access" to the APIs, while continuing to deny other developers access?

What way of Apple implementing this feature would be a way that you would support?

[sibeale1]

@Steve Wilkinson -

Ok, perhaps I'm of a different species than you. I am a ripe old age (>70), I don't have physical or mental problems, I sleep well, and I don't fret about the color of light I look at at night. YMMV. But I still like the feature for the reason I described.

[Mike Wuerthele]

While I think you guys do a pretty good job of reporting on things, yes, even the problems... IMO, there is a rose-colored lens involved in the tone of the reporting, especially when some of us are, IMO, rightly critical of Apple.

I disagree. Our tone is less rose-colored, and more "this is how it is." We don't make excuses for them, and we're certainly not pounding the Kool-aid like editorials at some other venues.

We turn down mainstream media's fear-mongering about security issues that aren't, and clear up things as we can, that don't fit into simple soundbites.

I don't agree with Apple's direction 90% of the time, but I do have to live with it. Like I've said before, what are the alternatives?

[Inkling]

William, you've obviously not lived in a high latitude if you think sunset timing is the way to go. Roughly put, the further north you go, the greater the difference between daylight in the summer and winter. In Seattle, where I used to live, it was getting dark at 4:30 in the winter but stayed light until 10 in the summer. When fl.ux tried to force that sort of day on me, I revolted and to get reasonable hours, told it I lived in San Diego. The reality is that few of us live by the sun any more and, winter or summer, stay indoors in the evening and go to sleep about the same time. Setting this 'browning' feature by a fixed schedule makes more sense. I just wish Apple would add a further mode. Browning isn't enough in many situations, from inside a dark movie theatre to checking your phone when you wake up in the middle of the night. iOS also needs a full night mode, one that has light text on a mostly dark background. A few apps add that feature themselves. It'd be great to see it built in.

[Mike Wuerthele]

William lives in the UK.

[Steve Wilkinson]

Originally Posted by sibeale1 

@Steve Wilkinson -

Ok, perhaps I'm of a different species than you. I am a ripe old age (>70), I don't have physical or mental problems, I sleep well, and I don't fret about the color of light I look at at night. YMMV. But I still like the feature for the reason I described.

No worries... I'm just pointing out there is actual biology, hormones, etc. involved... so it isn't just new-age hocus-pocus or such.

Originally Posted by Mike Wuerthele 

I disagree. Our tone is less rose-colored, and more "this is how it is." We don't make excuses for them, and we're certainly not pounding the Kool-aid like editorials at some other venues.

We turn down mainstream media's fear-mongering about security issues that aren't, and clear up things as we can, that don't fit into simple soundbites.

I don't agree with Apple's direction 90% of the time, but I do have to live with it. Like I've said before, what are the alternatives?

Mike, I wasn't comparing you to other media, and my comments weren't necessarily aimed at you. But, the tone I was speaking about is concerning the amount of trying to justify things Apple is doing (which, granted depends on views of how companies should operate), and especially, downplaying current problems in comparison to historical problems.

It's *really* bad at some other Mac news outlets!

Originally Posted by Inkling 

William, you've obviously not lived in a high latitude if you think sunset timing is the way to go. ... iOS also needs a full night mode, one that has light text on a mostly dark background. A few apps add that feature themselves. It'd be great to see it built in.

I live in Prince George, BC. My screen was dimming around 3:30pm, thankfully it's slowly getting better now. But, you can set this differently if you like, and part of the point of it is to follow natural light conditions. But, even just letting it do it's think an hour or two before bed (whatever time that is) will help a lot.

I agree about the 'night mode' in the way you're describing, but that's a totally different thing and purpose. (i.e.: health vs distraction)

[bobolicious]

"That said, that was a pretty off-topic outburst there bobolicious. Apple deserves praise in this regard for *finally* taking our health seriously after years of being blind to it."

....and yet F.Lux has been an option for years if Apple had found a way to let it work, even through the cracks if needed... I too am glad we are getting the option, and have written to Apple in support of such capability numerous times, especially given irony in HealthKit, yet it could have been out long ago, and perhaps mail might work a little better now, and users might be healthier as a result...

[iSkippy]

Under "Who is Night Shift in iOS 9 not for," you should also mention anyone with a non-64-bit device. My iPhone 5 running the public beta is missing the feature.

[revco]

Off topic. Would you consider putting the author's name at the top of articles? I can usually tell who's written the story after a para or two but it would be good to have their name near the top. Thanks.

[Steve Wilkinson]

Originally Posted by iSkippy 

Under "Who is Night Shift in iOS 9 not for," you should also mention anyone with a non-64-bit device. My iPhone 5 running the public beta is missing the feature.

Drat... well, there goes my night-time reading until Apple brings us a new 4" reasonably full-featured iPhone, or, I guess, I stick to my dumb-phone and a new iPod touch.

[Sanjiv Sathiah]

Asus Zenpad's introduced in the middle of last year had this feature built in, although it is not clear whether their blue light filter is software or hardware based.

ASUS ZenPad S 8.0 (Z580CA) | Tablets | ASUS Global

We reported on it here:
https://www.macnn.com/articles/15/06....crowd.128949/

Great to see Apple introducing something similar - my daughter, especially, is shocking when it comes to getting to sleep every night. I will be enrolling her iPad mini in the beta software program asap!