With iOS 9.3, Apple introduced Night Shift, a feature that is designed to cut down on nighttime blue light exposure from iOS devices to encourage better sleep. Its similarity to the popular f.lux app for Mac did not go unnoticed, especially since Apple put a stop to an f.lux for iOS app just two months before Night Shift debuted.
The developers behind f.lux have now published an official response to Apple's Night Shift feature, calling Apple's move to address nighttime exposure to blue light a "big commitment and an important first step." They ask Apple to take its support a step further by implementing the tools that would allow for an App Store version of the f.lux app.
We're proud that we are the original innovators and leaders in this area. In our continued work over the last seven years, we have learned how complicated people actually are. The next phase of f.lux is something we cannot wait to ship to the world. [...]
Today we call on Apple to allow us to release f.lux on iOS, to open up access to the features announced this week, and to support our goal of furthering research in sleep and chronobiology.
F.lux for the Mac has been available for years and is popular in the Mac community with users who want to avoid blue light at night. Research has suggested that bright light exposure (especially the blue wavelength) at night can interrupt the circadian rhythm, causing sleep problems and other harmful effects on the immune system. While there's been a Mac solution to blue light for some time, no such tool has been available on a non-jailbroken iOS device.
F.lux for Mac
In November, the developers behind f.lux attempted to bring an official iOS version of f.lux to the iPhone and the iPad using an app side-loaded onto iOS devices via Xcode, but Apple quickly put a stop to it and told f.lux that asking customers to side-load apps onto their iOS devices violates the Developer Program Agreement.
F.lux's developers are not able to create an official App Store version of f.lux for iOS devices without Apple's help because the APIs to control display temperature are not provided by Apple. The version of f.lux that was briefly available used private APIs that would prevent it from being approved for release in the App Store.
Night Shift mode is currently available to developers and public beta testers who are running iOS 9.3. The feature will see a public release this spring when iOS 9 launches.
I like it better when integrated into the OS, but Apple should have paid f.lux some money or bought out their company.
This is getting close to the situation where the big car companies implemented the windshield wiper design that a small time inventor created without compensating him.
Apple needs to just buy them out and call it a day, they have the money.
That warchest money is for questionable brand asset acquisitions like Beats, instead of being used with a modicum of integrity to pay original creators for intellectual property, that's later to be implemented as a 'revolutionary innovative feature'.
Wednesday January 25, 2023 9:40 am PST by Joe Rossignol
After announcing new Mac and HomePod models last week, Apple adjusted its trade-in values for select devices in the United States.
iPhone trade-in values decreased by up to $80, and most Android smartphones also went down. Mac trade-in values remained unchanged or increased by up to $40 depending on the model, while some Apple Watch models increased in value and others decreased. Trade-in...
Tuesday January 24, 2023 4:53 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple's next-generation iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are expected to be announced in September as usual. Already, rumors suggest the devices will have at least seven exclusive features not available on the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus.
An overview of the seven features rumored to be exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro models:A17 chip: iPhone 15 Pro models will be equipped with an A17...
Tuesday January 24, 2023 1:11 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
While the new Mac mini with the M2 chip has a lower $599 starting price, the base model with 256GB of storage has slower SSD read and write speeds compared to the previous-generation model with the M1 chip and 256GB of storage.
A teardown of the new Mac mini shared by YouTube channel Brandon Geekabit reveals that the 256GB model is equipped with only a single 256GB storage chip, while the...
Tuesday January 24, 2023 10:10 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released tvOS 16.3, the third major point update to the tvOS 16 operating system that originally came out in September. Available for the Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD, tvOS 16.3 comes six weeks after tvOS 16.2, an update that added Apple Music Sing.
The tvOS 16.3 update can be downloaded over the air through the Settings app on the Apple TV by going to System > Software...
Monday January 23, 2023 10:06 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released watchOS 9.3, the third major update to the watchOS 9 operating system that first launched in September. watchOS 9.3 comes over a month after watchOS 9.2, an update that added new Workout functionality and Crash Detection optimizations.
watchOS 9.3 can be downloaded for free through the Apple Watch app on the iPhone by opening it up and going to General > Software Update. ...
Friday January 20, 2023 11:43 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 16.3 will be released to the public next week. The software update will be available for the iPhone 8 and newer and includes a handful of new features, changes, and bug fixes.
Below, we've recapped bigger features in iOS 16.3, including support for physical security keys as a two-factor authentication option for Apple ID accounts, worldwide ...
Tuesday January 24, 2023 1:45 pm PST by Juli Clover
The new M2-series MacBook Pro and Mac mini models launched today, marking the debut of the first M2 Pro and M2 Max chips. We have the M2 Pro Mac mini on hand, and thought we'd take a look at the machine and do a series of benchmarks to see how it fits into Apple's lineup.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Base model Mac mini machines come with either an M2 or M2 Pro...
Monday January 23, 2023 10:09 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released macOS Ventura 13.2, the second major update to the macOS Ventura operating system initially released in October. macOS Ventura 13.2 comes more than a month after macOS Ventura 13.1, an update that added the Freeform app and other changes.
The macOS Ventura 13.2 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System...
Apple on January 23 released iOS 16.3, delivering support for Security Keys for Apple IDs, changes to Emergency SOS functionality, support for the second-generation HomePod, and more.
Top Rated Comments
This is getting close to the situation where the big car companies implemented the windshield wiper design that a small time inventor created without compensating him.