The Blue light filter on iPhone, also known as “Night Shift,” is a special accessibility feature to ease eye strain and make using an iPhone or iPad more comfortable during evenings and nights. As you can tell by the name, the blue light filter on iPhone and iPad reduces the amount of cool light the screen emits, making the screen appear “warmer” with a slightly more yellowish hue. Depending on your preferences, the blue light filter might turn your display completely orange or just a little bit warm.
Many companies, including Apple, claim the blue light filter positively affects your body and improves sleep quality. Some researchers say our bodies perceive warm light better during evenings and help the brain prepare for sleep. That, in turn, makes it easier for you to fall asleep and get better rest. While that statement is debatable among scientists, users say that “Night Shift” on iPhone makes using devices in the evenings slightly more comfortable. We cannot say whether the blue light filter on our iPhone helps us sleep better. However, it surely reduces eye strain, especially when paired with dark mode.
Nowadays, every modern smartphone, tablet, computer, e-reader, and even some car displays have a blue light filter. In this article, though, we will focus on how to reduce blue light on iPhones. If you wonder how to turn on the Blue light filter on your iPhone, this article will show you all the details. It will also show you how to turn off blue light on iPhone and iPad.
Blue Light Filter on iPhone — What Models Are Supported?
The blue light filter on iPhone (Night Shift) works on all relatively modern iPhones. The feature is now many years old since Apple introduced it back in the days of iOS 9.4. For reference, the latest iOS version is 16.1.
To enable the blue light filter on iPhone, you need the iPhone 5S or newer and the iPad Air/mini 2 or newer (any iPad with the A7 or newer CPU). Although iPhone 5 and older models support iOS 9.4, Night Shift does not work on iPhones released before 5S and iPads before the first-gen Air. The feature may require capabilities missing on devices with CPUs older than Apple A7. If you still use a device that does not natively support Night Shift, try jailbreaking it and use third-party tweaks that enable blue light filter on iPhone and iPad.
How to Turn On Blue Light Filter on iPhone?
You can enable the blue light filter on your iPhone by asking Siri. That is the fastest way to reduce blue light on iPhone. Invoke the voice assistant and say: “Turn on Night Shift.” Siri will turn on the blue light filter and keep it on until the next sunrise.
Note. This method will not work if you have disabled Siri or it does not support your language. If you use Siri in a language other than English, the trigger phrase and exact wording might be different.
Turn On Blue Light Filter
Open the control center by scrolling down from the upper-right corner of the screen (on iPhones with FaceID) or from the bottom of the screen (on iPhones with TouchID and the Home button) and hold the brightness slider. Then, tap the middle Night Shift button. Like with Siri, that action will turn on the blue light filter until the next sunrise, so you will have to enable the blue light filter on iPhone the following evening.
How to Turn Off Blue Light Filter on iPad?
To make things clearer, we want to note that this article applies to both iPhones and iPads, and all the ideas and UIs are identical on those devices.
How to Make iPhone Turn On the Blue Light Filter Automatically on Schedule?
You can make your iPhone automatically turn Night Shift on or off following sunrise/sunset at your current location. There is also another option that allows you to create a custom schedule. For example, from 8 PM to 8 AM every day, regardless of sunset/sunrise.
- Open Settings, then go to Display and Brightness.
- Tap Night Shift.
- Toggle on the Manually Enable Until Tomorrow option to turn on the blue light filter until the next sunrise. Note that using this option requires you to repeat this step every day. If you want to automate the process, follow the next step.
- To make an iPhone automatically turn Night Shift on or off, enable the Scheduled option.
- Tap From / To and select the option that fits you best. From our experience, we can tell that Sunset to Sunrise works the best because it ensures Night Shift is on during the dark hours. If that is not your cup of tea, select Custom Schedule and specify the hours.
Can I Enable or Disable Blue Light Filter on iPhone Using Back Taps?
iOS lets you assign various actions to double and triple back taps. It is a great accessibility feature that can work as a shortcut for your favorite options (for example, enable grayscale display on iPhone, take a screenshot, or open notification center). However, unfortunately, it does not support Night Shift. For some reason, Apple does not allow users to enable or disable blue light filter on iPhone with back taps.
How to Disable Blue Light Filter on iPhone?
Again, there are several ways to disable the blue light filter on your iPhone.
- Ask Siri. Just say: “Hey Siri, turn off Night Shift.” Note, if you have scheduled Night Shift, it will turn back on on the next sunset. If you want to permanently disable the blue light filter on your iPhone, use the third option in this list.
- Use Control Center. Open Control Center (pull up on iPhones with the Home button), tap and hold the brightness slider, then tap the Night Shift button. Again, that action disables the blue light filter until the next sunrise in case you have scheduled Night Shift.
- Use Settings. Go to Settings > Display and Brightness. Tap Night Shift, then disable Scheduled or Manually Enable Until Tomorrow.
How to Change Blue Light Filter Intensity on iPhone?
You can change Night Shift’s intensity (make the screen warmer or cooler) within the Settings app. Siri does not support additional commands for managing the blue light filter, so you cannot say something like “make my screen warmer.”
- Go to Settings > Display and Brightness.
- Tap Night Shift.
- Find the Color Temperature slider and set the preferred level. Your iPhone will show a preview when you hold the slider if Night Shift is currently off.
Blue Light Filter Apps for iPhone
Apple does not allow third-party apps from the App Store to mimic the Night Shift’s capabilities, which means you cannot use blue light filter apps from third-party developers. On Android, though, things are the opposite, and you have a set of different blue light filter apps from various developers with various capabilities.
It is also worth noting that third-party tweaks for jailbroken iPhones may offer more advanced settings, scheduling, and customization option. Some might consider jailbreaking their iPhones to get a better blue light filter, even if their devices fully support Night Shift. After all, it is up to you to decide how to use your iPhone. Still, because jailbreak is no longer that common and a regular consumer is unlikely to bother with it, we decided to focus on creating a universal guide that describes how to turn off blue light on iPhone.
That is it. Now you know how to use the blue light filter on your iPhone or iPad.
