iOS 9.3’s New and Intuitive “Night Shift” Feature to Work Only on Select Devices

Apple officially released the first beta of iOS 9.3 to developers yesterday, which means the company’s latest and greatest mobile software update is that much closer to seeing the light of day on iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touch devices around the world.

And, just like any number jump in Apple’s firmware, iOS 9.3 brings with it a slew of new and immersive features — such as, for example, new 3D Touch options for system apps. However, perhaps the most anticipated (and appreciated) of these impending software enhancements is a feature known simply as “Night Shift.”

“Wait, what’s that?” you might be wondering, so let’s break it down, because it’s actually pretty cool. As stated by Apple, the Night Shift feature alters, or rather, “shifts,” the colors of an iOS device’s display to the warmer, complementary end of the color spectrum in the evening time — thus reducing a user’s exposure to those otherwise lively and awakening blue hues that we see by default; and, in turn, making it easier to use your device before bed without straining your eyes.

Amazingly enough, Apple has programmed iOS 9.3 to take care of this transition automatically, without any setting adjustments of implementations, in accordance with the sunset time in your geographical location. What’s more, the warmer colors will then revert to their original hues when the sun comes up the following morning. Pretty neat, huh?

Certain applications, such a the popular jailbreak app f.lux, have tried to mimic (successfully) the Night Shift feature already, however that app was shut down shortly after hitting the app store last year due to the developer’s violation of Apple’s developer agreement. Unfortunately, users were required to sideload the f.lux app using Xcode, which is against the terms and conditions set forth by the company.

And while Apple doesn’t mention anything in terms of compatibility with specific devices, as fate would have it, the feature will NOT be available on several older devices powered by a 32-bit chipset.

Therefore, the following iOS devices — though upgradeable to iOS 9.3 — will not be able to take advantage of Apple’s Night Shift feature:

• iPhone 5
• iPhone 5c
• iPod Touch 5G
• iPad mini
• iPad 2
• iPad 3
• iPad 4

Newer devices featuring one of Apple’s 64-bit chipsets, however, will boast Night Shift functionality. They include:

• iPod Touch 6G
• iPhone 5s
• iPhone 6/6s
• iPhone 6 Plus/6s Plus
• iPad Air/Air 2
• iPad mini 2/3/4
• iPad Pro

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