iOS 9.3 and mode Night Shift: less blue light in order not to compromise our sleep

Last updated Jun 23, 2017 506

A mechanism that, at sunset, change the color temperature of the screen to reduce the emission of blue light, which some studies impairs the quality of sleep.

Few hours ago Apple has released the beta version of iOS 9.3 that includes, among other varieties and improvements, mode ” Night Shift ” : it is a working mechanism that reduces the amount of blue light emitted from the display of an iOS device during the evening and at night, on the basis of a series of studies conducted in the past have shown that blue light can have a negative impact on sleep quality going to alter the circadian rhythms of the body.

The Night Shift mode activated the iPhone screen changes its color temperature to warmer colors, parallel to the going down of the sun and reduces the emission of blue light. In the morning, it is automatically returned to its normal color temperature, modeled on that of natural light.

Some users of Mac desktop and / or laptop may have already made use of a similar mechanism with third-party app f.lux. Recently it has developed a version for iOS with the same functionality or proposal outside of the App Store because it is based on proprietary API.

Apple noted that propose an app outside of the App Store Developer Program violates the Agreement, thus imposing the suspension of the distribution of the app iOS users. F.lux asked Apple to be able to use the APIs required to develop an acceptable version of the App Store, but by that time the apple was probably already working on its solution included in the new iOS 9.3.

Night Shift is now available to developers who downloaded the beta of iOS 9.3, which includes other features including the ability to connect to an iPhone with more than one Apple Watch and a series of enhancements to Apple News, Notes, Health and CarPlay.

Night Shift seems to still be limited to iOS devices with the 64-bit: A7, A8, A9 and A8X. In terms of devices: iPhone 5s and above, iPad Air and iPad mini 2 and later and later.