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Flux responds to iOS 9.3’s Night Shift feature, asks for its app to be allowed in App Store

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Apple earlier this week introduced the first beta of iOS 9.3 and included in it is a new feature called Night Shift. Night Shift uses your iOS device’s location and clock to automatically adjust the colors in your display, making them warmer and easier on the eyes at nighttime, which ideally would allow you to sleep better. When Apple announced this feature, people immediately noticed the similarity to the popular third-party app Flux, which was only briefly available for iOS last year before Apple shut it down. Now, the developers behind Flux have come out and offered a comment on Apple’s new Night Shift feature…

In a blog post, the Flux team acknowledged that it’s a big step for Apple to acknowledge the health risks that go along with looking at a bright display late at night. Flux, however, wasn’t going to let its own contribution go unnoticed and reaffirmed the fact that it is the “original innovators and leaders” in the market.

Flux didn’t stop there, though. The developers said that they are now calling on Apple to allow them to release Flux on iOS and to open up access to the API used to power Night Shift. As I mentioned before, Flux was briefly made available for iOS via side loading with Xcode last year, but not through the App Store as to not break Apple’s policies. The app, however, was removed from the developer’s website at the request of Apple a day later.

Whether or not Apple responds to Flux’s argument remains to be seen. Even if Apple were to allow Flux to be available in the App Store, it would be hard to convince the average user to download it as opposed to just using built-in Night Shift feature, even if Flux offers considerably more customization. Nevertheless, Flux remains available for Mac.

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Comments

  1. Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 8 years ago

    It could be downloaded by users of 32 bit devices, provided that they kept it 32 bit compatible. I’m kinda disappointing I won’t be getting that feature so I’d probably buy it.

  2. AeronPeryton - 8 years ago

    This just further supports the idea that Apple and f.lux developers met behind closed doors. If Apple simply blocked them then lifted the idea, f.lux would probably be suing Apple over it. Instead, they’re simply leveraging the announcement as an opportunity to get Apple to open up more APIs.

    • Atlas (@Metascover) - 8 years ago

      Suing over what?

      • André Hedegaard - 8 years ago

        Why suing over that f.lux are the inventors of the app which Apple is now stealing and rebranding as Night Shift. Do you gettit now?

      • Jassi Sikand - 8 years ago

        Andre, they didn’t steal anything. The ‘idea’ wasn’t copyrighted, the source code was. You can implement others’ ideas in a different fashion, which is what Apple did.

    • rogifan - 8 years ago

      Do they have this patented? Otherwise what could they sue over? They certainly didn’t invent the idea.

    • 89p13 - 8 years ago

      I hope you’re right and that Apple didn’t just “lift” this idea from f.lux without some type of compensation or acknowledgement to the original developers. Fair is Fair – how can you very publicly sue your competitors who steal your designs and IP and then turn around and lift this from one of your developer without any acknowledgement?

      • The ‘idea’ of shifting color temperature based on time of day is not IP – the concept has been used in lighting design, production and available on other platforms (Android) for years. It would be one thing if Night Shift is found to be utilizing code written by f.lux, but otherwise this is not stealing.

  3. SKR Imaging - 8 years ago

    Allowing F.lux to be on App Store would allow 32 bit device owners to install it.. Why augment the health risk for 32 bit owners by locking down the feature to only newer devices.. the feature seemingly does not need a 64 bit processor to run if F.lux has been running on older devices like the iPhone 4 when Jailbroken.. hopefully the devs realize the mistake and open up Night shift mode to all users with iOS 9.3.

    • AeronPeryton - 8 years ago

      It is still just a beta.

      • SKR Imaging - 8 years ago

        that is the silver lining of the whole affair.. it IS still Beta.. hope they hear the outcries and decide to just enable it for every device that can install 9.3 (including the 32 bit devices)… technically speaking it is 100% possible to run Night Shift on 32 bit.. seems more like a business decision.

  4. Jonathan (@Jon889) - 8 years ago

    If Apple don’t grant flux’s request to be on the Apple Store they should just reject Apple’s request to stop side loading..

  5. mrobertson21 - 8 years ago

    Sooo… Where’s the outrage?

  6. TfT_02 - 8 years ago

    I’ve installed the 9.3 beta and I love this new Night Shift feature. I have been using f.lux for ages now on my mac, and this is what I have missed on my iPhone. I don’t really care if Apple allows f.lux on the app store, as I also do not care about the million alternative apps for Mail, Camera, Safari, etc. I won’t use the f.lux app anyway if it’s an iOS feature that is seamlessly integrated – which gives the best experience in general.

    • SKR Imaging - 8 years ago

      people wanting it on App Store are users like myself on 32 bit devices… seems like the feature was software locked so older device owners feel tempted to ditch their phones and tablets to purchase newer hardware.

  7. Robert - 8 years ago

    F.lux built something that they knew broke the rules by using a private API. Then they lobbied Apple to make an exception for them and they also broke the license agreement by encouraging side loading. As much as I wanted F.Lux I realized it was impossible for a third party developer to implement the idea.

    I wrote to Apple requesting this as a future feature of iOS.

    This really is something that should be integrated in the OS. Thankfully, Apple were able to do this without infringing on any intellectual property. If Apple suspect that their products are causing some kind of harm to the user, they have to do something about it themselves.

    I have a theory that, whilst this feature is intended to help your body clock, it also reduces strain on the eyes when they are adjusted to the dark.

    • Joe - 8 years ago

      This is exactly what I came here to say. I love how they broke the developer agreement by encouraging people to side load an app which is meant for testing apps, not distributing apps, and now they are asking for Apple to allow them system access to the brightness/white balance? How is Apple the bad guy for this? It’s like when iFixit’s developer account was deactivated when they received their developer preview AppleTV and took it apart and posted what they found. That was explicitly not allowed in the developer agreement. F.lux broke the rules that were clearly laid out. It’s not like they are losing out on money either, they don’t charge for their app.

      • nevembr - 8 years ago

        They did break the rules to encourage sideloading, but that was the only way to run the app on a device. This is the same logic as jailbreaking. Yes it is breaking apple’s rules, but it pushes the technology further to where it needs to go. For example, there were native jailbreak apps before there was an App Store on the iPhone. Developers were calling for native apps so they could access features like GPS-location- apple originally acted like they were going to use “webapps” for third-party development, though I’m sure that was never their plan. So then developers found a way to jailbreak and install them, and then later apple added the app store for native apps (and allowed native apps to use the api for GPS).
        Flux is basically asking for a similar treatment here- they made an app that worked on the iphone software, but wasn’t allowed in the app store. Now that apple has made an interface for changing the white-balance, they are asking to allow third-party developers to have access to that interface.

        Personally I am hoping that apple does so- Flux could add some great bonus features and sell it for a dollar. As a bonus it could possibly be implemented in other apps as well- does your fitbit think you have been sleeping during the day because of a new job? it could have your phone wake up in night mode. Just spitballing, but I think that Flux has a fair request here. Flux wasn’t making money on their side-loading gig, they were just offering a feature to users which they could not otherwise get. Apple was in the right to tell them to stop, but give your iOS devs and fans a bone you know?

      • Joe - 8 years ago

        I love how people are making out Apple as this horrible benevolent dictator that is oppressing the developers. The developers have a super rich platform to design on.

        Just because Apple added a feature for changing white balance does not mean that now they are required to open it up to third party developers. There are tons of things developers don’t have access to, so why all of a sudden is this such a hot topic?

        I wish Steve was still here, I could picture his e-mail to them now:

        “We don’t grant developers access to that part of the system.

        Not that hard to understand.

        Steve.”

      • SKR Imaging - 8 years ago

        I’d like to add that F.lux is asking to open up the Brightness API.. just like devs were asking for keyboard API and got that eventually…. maybe iOS X WWDC keynote will have this API enabled aswell and then F.lux will be approved to the App Store.

      • Joe - 8 years ago

        I just don’t see that being very high on Apple’s todo list though. I can’t imagine there being a lot of demand for that. I’d say Siri API would be much higher than that and advancing the OS to a more complex OS is probably much higher. I’ve never heard anyone say, “I hope they open up the brightness API.”

    • mrobertson21 - 8 years ago

      What a novel theory! You must work at Apple!

  8. “it would be hard to convince the average user to download it as opposed to just using built-in Night Shift feature, even if Flux offers considerably more customization. Nevertheless,”.. nah.. i mean it wouldn’t be hard. mainly because some users still need F.lux on iphone 5 and lower devices. i have an iPhone 5 and i don’t have Night Shift. It’s bull crap.

  9. Monica Manghnani - 8 years ago

    I am experiencing a millisecond screen flickering when I push the Home button to unlock my phone. A green screen appears and it flickers and it’s gone. It’s just after the 9.3 update. Is anyone else experiencing it?

  10. Scott Snider - 8 years ago

    I will have to say I tried it and did not like it at all.

    • Tom Hank - 8 years ago

      I agree with you. I also don’t like this feature. I think it is better to use a screen protector rather than using this irritating yellow light. Are you using any screen protector to keep your eye safe? I am using “ocushield” screen protector.

  11. Flux acknowledging it’s a big step for Apple to acknowledge the health risks with bright displays late at night is a classy move. Hopefully, this gets sorted out.

  12. All people still on old ‘n new phones sticking with ‘not wanting or forced to upgrade’ having the ‘originators’ f.lux on the app store, as we have already seen, has a massive fan base and will not be discarded because Apple have yet again ripped off ideas from talented developers and marketed it as their own.

    Best we can do is name and shame Apple…booooo!!!

  13. Those who have an older iPhone (5) can’t get nightshift. it’s only available on 64 bit processors. it should be available for us on the app store.

  14. David Moheban - 8 years ago

    I don’t understand why apple cant implement night shift mode on 32 bit ipads like my 4th gen ipad? I get the feeling its because they dont give or care about their older user base and not a technical issue. I have had serious insomnia going back years and have used this ipad at night and never knew it could cause issues with my sleep pattern until recently. This has hurt my health greatly and if they do not implement this feature soon if it is possible to do so ill sue them i swear. Ever since the whole terrorist cell phone unlock contoversy i have lost respect for apple.

    • André Hedegaard - 8 years ago

      David, are you serious?
      You’re seriously going to sue Apple because you CHOSE to use their products as is?
      Blue light dosen’t hurt you at all – in fact its quite necessary for normal health.
      Do you seriously think that anyone will take you seriously, when you CHOSE to use your iPad at night, instead of sleeping?
      Trust me, Apple has not in the slightest hurt your health, what absolute tosh!!

      Two things absolutely American, which I hate:
      1) Throwing responsibility onto others
      2) Sueing. I swear this is like a hobby for you Americans.

      I can agree with you though, that it ‘d be nice to have Nightshift on 32bit iPads/phones.

Author

Avatar for Chance Miller Chance Miller

Chance is an editor for the entire 9to5 network and covers the latest Apple news for 9to5Mac.

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