14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is working on bringing a blue light filter in Windows 10 with the Creators Update, and while Redmond is testing this feature with help from insiders, rival Apple is planning on doing the same thing with the latest beta of macOS.
Apple’s implementation is called Night Shift and is available on iOS devices since version 9.3. But although it has a different name, Night Shift boasts functionality similar to third-party app f.lux, just like Microsoft’s very own Blue Light Filter currently in its early days in Windows 10.
On macOS, Night Shift can automatically adjust screen settings to display warmer colors, making it easier to work on the computer during the night, but also helping users sleep better.
This is Microsoft’s purpose too, with the Blue Light Filter description published in the Settings app explaining that “displays emit blue light, the kind of light you see during the day. Windows can show warmer colors to make it easier to sleep at night.”
Who copied whom?
So there you go, both Microsoft and Apple are beta testing a blue light filter for their desktop operating systems and there’s a good chance that both bring them to public users later this year.
As far as the company that was first to implement this feature, Microsoft introduced it in Windows 10 build 14997, which got leaked in late December, while Apple is only making it available with macOS beta 10.12.4.
On the other hand, Apple rolled it out with iOS 9.3 back in 2016, so mobile devices manufactured by Cupertino already boasted such functionality. As far as Microsoft’s phones are concerned, no blue light filter is available just yet.
In the end, what’s more important is that blue light filters are actually pretty helpful in real life, especially for those who spend more than a couple of hours working on the computer, so it’s a good thing that both companies are making them available on their devices.
