APPLE'S upcoming iOS 9.3 update for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad users includes a slew of new features, including a new Night Shift mode which brings f.lux-like functionality to your device – along with the promise of a better night's sleep.
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| iOS 9.3's Night Mode dims the blue light in the display that can affect your circadian rhythms |
Apple has unveiled the first beta of iOS version 9.3, which includes a host of tweaks, improvements and new functionality.
The new operating system upgrade brings new features to Health, Wallet, CarPlay, Notes and Settings – as well as a new Night Mode.
Apple claims the latter "may even help you get a good night’s sleep."
That's because Night Mode uses your current location combined with the clock on your device to work out when the sun will set.
When it does, your iPhone or iPad will automatically start to "shift the colours in your display to the warmer end of the spectrum," Apple claims on its website.
This shift means the backlight in your device's display will be easier on your eyes.
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| You can now password protect the doodles and text you write down in the Notes app |
Many studies have shown that exposure to bright blue light in the evening can affect your circadian rhythms and make it harder to fall asleep.
Night Mode hopes to solve this problem, so your iPhone won't affect your sleep when you're up late at night setting an alarm ready for the morning, or checking Facebook one last time before turning in.
In the morning, it returns the display to its regular settings.
The functionality is very similar to f.lux – a hugely popular Windows and Mac app that gradually changes your display lighting based on the time of day, warm at night and like sunlight during the day.
The lightweight app, which hopes to reduce eye strain in users who work at night or in dimly-lit areas, has been downloaded more than 15 million times, according to the company.
Aside from Night Mode, other notable features in the latest version of iOS include –
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| Health has a slew of new features, including integrated activity cards from your Apple Watch |
Notes
In iOS 9.3 you can now secure your notes and doodles with a password – or using the Touch ID fingerprint sensor.
That means any quick bullet-points about your financial details, medical info or website logins can be locked-down with Apple's biometric security.
You can also sort notes by date created, date modified, or alphabetically.
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| Health has a slew of new features, including integrated activity cards from your Apple Watch |
Health App
Apple has clearly spent some time tweaking its Health app, which hopes to become your go-to repository for all your health tracking data from wearables, like Jawbone, or apps like MyFitnessPal.
In iOS 9.3, categories such as Weight, Workouts, and Sleep have a new slider menu that reveals apps you can easily add to your Health dashboard.
The preinstalled Health app also now displays your move, exercise, and stand data, as well as your goals, from Apple Watch.
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| News now includes landscape orientation and improvements to the For You section |
News
Apple has also added some functionality to its News app.
The articles in For You will now be better tailored to your particular interests. And to help you discover new Favourites, For You suggests trending topics and Editors’ Picks.
Landscape orientation has also been added.
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| Apple has also added a slew of new 3D Touch shortcuts |
Extras
For iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus users, Apple has added 3D Touch shortcuts to apps including Weather, Settings, Compass, Health, App Store and the iTunes Store.
Siri now supports Hebrew, Finish and Malay. And iCloud for iBooks will sync your Audiobooks, PDFs and more across your Apple devices.
The first beta has only just been rolled-out to developers, so it will be a few weeks before the final release hits your iPhone.
But if you are itching to try out the new features you can always download a public beta, which Apple usually announces on its website closer to release.
As always, beta software can be frustratingly unstable so it's probably not a good idea to install it on your primary device.
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