In the wake of the new “Night Shift” feature found in the first beta of iOS 9.3, released to developers and public beta testers earlier this week, the developers of f.lux have asked Apple to allow their app to be released in the iOS App Store. Night Shift, and f.lux, works to cut down on the amount of blue light iOS device users are exposed to in the evening hours, thereby encouraging better sleep.
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.
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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.
Research has shown that too much exposure to blue light can interrupt the body’s circadian rhythm, causing sleep problems and other harmful effects on the immune system. A f.lux app for the Mac, which automatically cuts down on the amount of blue light from a user’s Mac screen, has been available for a number of years, and has proved popular among Mac users wishing to avoid exposure to blue light. Until now, no equivalent app has been available for un-jailbroken iOS devices.
Back in November, the f.lux developers began offering an iOS version of their app to users via a side-loading process via Xcode. Apple soon requested the developers to pull the app from distribution, and the developers agreed to, lest they be found in violation of the Apple Developer Program Agreement. The iOS version of f.lux uses a private API, which prevents it from being released via the iOS App Store.)
Night Shift, a part of the new iOS 9.3 beta, is currently only available to developers and public beta users running the new beta. The feature is expected to be a feature of iOS 9 when the public release launches this spring.