What is Night Shift :
This is a cool new feature which is available from iOS 9.3 for all iOS device users. As the name, ‘night shift’ suggests this feature is designed to help the user at night. Night Shift uses your iOS device’s clock and geolocation to determine when it’s sunset in your location. Then it automatically shifts the colors in your display to the warmer end of the spectrum, making it easier on your eyes. In the morning, it returns the display to its regular settings.
Why Night Shift?
Many studies have shown that exposure to bright blue light in the evening can affect your circadian rhythms and make it harder to fall asleep. Electronic displays like those on phones and tablets have a higher concentration of blue light than the sun. So, when you’re lying in bed at night playing your favorite game or streaming your favorite flick, then you’re over exposing your eyes to the blue light and damaging your circadian rhythm. In simpler words, it resets that feeling of tiredness and hurts our sleep cycle.
What’s Blue Light?
Blue light, it is the light on the spectrum that makes our computer, tablet, and phone screens bright and great during the day because it mimics a bright morning. Blue wavelengths wake us up, boosts our attention, and let us know it’s time to start the day.
But at night, blue light is less desirable because that’s the time when our bodies should be getting ready to relax and take a good sleep. Although all light disrupts the circadian rhythm, the blue light has been proven to be the most disruptive.
On a Kelvin scale used to determine color temperature, an iPhone 6 display measures in at about 7100K, while an iPad Air 2 display is slightly warmer at 6900K. On the lighting spectrum, 6900K and 7100K blue light levels are similar to the light you would see on a bright, cloudy day outdoors. Blue light is also harder on the eyes, especially in an indoor room that’s lit with a dimmer yellow light.
How to activate Night Shift?
Night Shift mode works by shifting the iPhone or iPad’s display from a blue tint to a much more yellow tint, either on demand, or automatically at sunrise and sunset, or on a custom user defined schedule. Night Shift is turned on in the Settings app.
Steps to activate Night Shift:
- Open settings app. Scroll to the Display & Brightness section.
- Tap on it, to locate the Night Shift.
Manual Mode :
- Tap on the “Manual” toggle.
- Adjust screen temperature as desired.
- With no schedule set, Night Shift mode will automatically turn off in the morning.
Automatic Mode :
- In the Night Shift menu, tap on “From and To” to set Night Shift activation times.
- Tap on “Sunset to Sunrise” to set Night Shift to come on when the sun sets based on your iPhone’s clock. When the sun sets in your local area, the display will shift from regular mode to Night Shift mode over the course of a minute.
- Tap on “Custom Schedule” to set your own times for Night Shift to turn on and off again.
Note:
Additionally, the “Setting Time Zone” feature under Location Services also needs to be enabled. This can be accessed by going to Privacy –> Location Services –> System Services. Make sure “Setting Time Zone” is toggled on.
Quick Access :
For quickly turning on or disabling Night Shift, there’s a Control Center option for Night Shift. The Control Center can be accessed by swiping up from the bottom of an iPhone or iPad’s display, where Night Shift is represented by an icon that depicts a crescent moon in an eye. Tapping on the icon will bring up options to turn Night Shift on or to disable it until the next day. The menu also displays current Night Shift settings.
Availability:
Night Shift is a feature in iOS 9.3, but as it turns out, it isn’t a feature that’s available on all of the devices able to run iOS 9. Night Shift requires a 64-bit processor, which encompasses the A7, A8, A8X, A9, and A9X.
|
Devices |
Processor |
Night Mode Availability |
|
iPad 2, iPhone 4s, iPod touch 5G, iPad mini |
A5 |
NO |
|
iPad 3rd generation |
A5X |
NO |
|
iPhone 5, iPhone 5C |
A6 |
NO |
|
iPad 4th generation |
A6X |
NO |
|
iPhone 5s, iPad Air, iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3 |
A7 |
YES |
|
iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad mini 4, iPod touch 6G |
A8 |
YES |
|
iPad Air 2 |
A8X |
YES |
|
iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s plus |
A9 |
YES |
|
iPad Pro |
A9X |
YES |
This feature is a necessary one for all the iOS users. This feature optimizes the mobile phone usage and helps in getting a good night sleep without hurting our eyes.
Arasuvel,
iOS Team,
Mallow Technologies.