Is there a way to make my iPhone screen redder at night?

March 17, 2013 8:19 PM

A friend introduced me to f.lux for Mac, and I'm hoping to find a way to adjust the color of my iPhone screen to be more in line with my circadian rhythms.

I'd been fantasizing about an app which made my iPhone screen dimmer and redder at night and brighter and bluer in the morning to help maintain regular circadian rhythms. A friend introduced me to f.lux, and I am enjoying it on my laptop, but I can't find anything like it for the iPhone without jailbreaking my phone.

Do you know any way to make my screen redder?

A timed app would be ideal - but I'd be happy with any way to adjust the hue/color balance on my iPhone.

posted by ladypants to Computers & Internet (1 answer total)

Best answer: The reason why f.lux is only available for jailbroken iOS devices is because Apple wants the App Store to only distribute self-contained apps (the kind that have an app icon and can be opened and closed). A piece of software that warms the color of the screen isn't a traditional app like that - it's more like a system extension, since it affects the entire user interface and every app you open up. Since it crosses those boundaries, there's no practical way to install it on a non-jailbroken device until Apple decides to release a new version of iOS with f.lux integrated into it. (I work on Cydia, and f.lux is a popular reason to jailbreak, but I think f.lux is so useful that I hope Apple will someday license it from its developers.)

As alternate solutions, you could look into orange-tinted screen covers (like the kind recommended here) or orange-tinted glasses (like these).
posted by dreamyshade at 9:16 PM on March 17, 2013 [7 favorites]