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f.lux on El Capitan--have you tried it?

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ghanwani

macrumors 601
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Dec 8, 2008
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Motivated by night shift on the iPhone, I just downloaded f.lux for my old macbook pro running El Capitan.

I can't decide if I like it yet. Certainly it seems to be easier on the eyes. When I switched back to regular mode, it felt very jarring to my eyes. Not sure if it helps sleep yet. I've had it only since yesterday evening.

However, if I want to watch a movie, then I have to disable it, or the colors in the movie look weird.

Do you use f.lux and what's your experience with it? I am especially curious if someone used it for a bit and then decided it's not working for them.
 
ghanwani said:
Motivated by night shift on the iPhone, I just downloaded f.lux for my old macbook pro running El Capitan.

I can't decide if I like it yet. Certainly it seems to be easier on the eyes. When I switched back to regular mode, it felt very jarring to my eyes. Not sure if it helps sleep yet. I've had it only since yesterday evening.

However, if I want to watch a movie, then I have to disable it, or the colors in the movie look weird.

Do you use f.lux and what's your experience with it? I am especially curious if someone used it for a bit and then decided it's not working for them.
Click to expand...
Flux has its own special movie mode which will last around 2.5 hours until it turns back to the warmer temperatures.
I too took some time to acclimate to the warmer temp of the display, but I went into the settings and changed them to be a little more blue at first then after a week went more warm. Now I keep my Mac with f.lux around the same warmth as my iPhone is when in NightShift and keeping the colors the same is amazing. Now if only I could do the same for the TV! :cool:
 
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Yes, been using it across a couple of macs on el cap for quite a while now. Plus my work PC and now that my iOS devices have it I'm really 'warming' up to it. :)

I tried it on my wife's computer and she insisted I immediately turn it off though. She had no interest in the color shift even though I feel like she could really benefit from it because she is on her computer late every night. :(
 
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It's been working great for me throughout the El Capitan betas and now the shipping version. I love the app, but I really wish they would just put a "dimmer slider" in the menu bar app so you can quickly adjust the screen whenever you want.
 
No problems running it on El Captian here.

When I occasionally have to disable it (at night), I'm amazed that my eyes could ever handle how bright the regular display is! This is on a 24" Cinema Display.
 
Used it for several years. I had it installed on our old MacMini with SVGA monitor running Lion, my wife hated it and so did my youngest son. I hadn't initially adjusted the preferences for the 'At Night' to compensate for the monitor so it really did look pretty orange. My older son has it on his MacBook Pro on El Capitan and loves it, students being semi-nocternal and all that...
Have it running on my everyday MacBook Air on El Capitan, it really does help and has been a stable application.
 
I've just started using it, and so far so good.

Only question I have is what resources does it chew up? How does it affect battery life?

Thank you,
m
 
i've been running f.lux since forever, and it's running great on 10.11.4. can't see why it would affect battery life, it's a setting, not an active process.

first time u use it, it looks...odd. then, you realize, it's perfect. on a side note, great to see apple implementing this on ios 9.3 ("night shift"), so, am sure we'll see it as part of the OS on the mac (at some point).
 
I'm not noticing much, if any, difference on battery life. My battery is currently at 75% of design capacity (I'm on my 2nd battery since I bought it; it was replaced about 2 1/2 years ago).

However, I'd say my assessment of it is somewhat mixed. I think the night shift on iOS is a bit gentler. This one seems a bit more aggressive in that it's not a one-off change but an ongoing adjustment and sometimes it feels too aggressive, meaning that it feels like a bit of strain for me because there's not enough contrast.

It may also have to do with me running it on an old 2010 non-retina MBP. Changing the screen tilt makes fairly significant changes in appearance.
 
ghanwani said:
I'm not noticing much, if any, difference on battery life. My battery is currently at 75% of design capacity (I'm on my 2nd battery since I bought it; it was replaced about 2 1/2 years ago).

However, I'd say my assessment of it is somewhat mixed. I think the night shift on iOS is a bit gentler. This one seems a bit more aggressive in that it's not a one-off change but an ongoing adjustment and sometimes it feels too aggressive, meaning that it feels like a bit of strain for me because there's not enough contrast.

It may also have to do with me running it on an old 2010 non-retina MBP. Changing the screen tilt makes fairly significant changes in appearance.
Click to expand...

you can change your settings, even change your location. i'm in ny, but i (used to) run it as if i were a bit into the atlantic ocean...so it would start dimming a little earlier). play with the settings...

all i know is, if you use f.lux, you get used to it, and, the minute you disable it (when active), it's...terrifying... :D
 
dogslobber said:
Good question. There is a study reported on Thursday that debunks this. Google is your friend. Note it's not technology, it's just setting the screen colors based on time of day. Nothing radical.
Click to expand...

it's technology that sets the screen colors based on time of day, and for that...it's exceptional. once you use it, you'll understand it's value. it's nothing more (and nothing less).
 
fisherking said:
it's technology that sets the screen colors based on time of day, and for that...it's exceptional. once you use it, you'll understand it's value. it's nothing more (and nothing less).
Click to expand...

I use it but it's just altering screen colors. When it's too late then the colors are plain whacky so I disable for an hour. When I use the word technology I think of more than changing the palette at midnight.
 
I installed it for the first time last night. For me, it did make reading the screen easier. I think it will also help in making the transition to sleep. Will continue to use it for a while and see how it goes.
 
I use it on my Mac's and PC's and love it a lot. I'm glad a version of this finally made it to iOS.
 
I agree that there's no evidence yet that Night Shift nor f.lux help with insomnia but I like the warmer colors at night.
Eventually, some ambitious grad students will publish a study on one or both.
 
dogslobber said:
I use it but it's just altering screen colors. When it's too late then the colors are plain whacky so I disable for an hour. When I use the word technology I think of more than changing the palette at midnight.
Click to expand...

sounds like it's either not working right, or you have too extreme settings.
 
I plopped f.lux on my Mac too, also being motivated from iOS 9.3 on my iPhone, and I love it!

A buddy of mine has used it for a while on his Mac, and I was resistant to using it. But after quickly warming up to it on iOS 9.3, it was a no-brainer to stick it on my Mac; and I haven't looked back since.

I'm slightly irritated that Apple didn't build Night Shift into El Capitan, actually. But I'm glad that Apple's omission will keep f.lux in business; at least for the time being.
 
f.lux looks very interesting, and I'm tempted to try it on my iMac. Anyone care to speculate why it isn't available in the Apple app store?
 
colodane said:
f.lux looks very interesting, and I'm tempted to try it on my iMac. Anyone care to speculate why it isn't available in the Apple app store?
Click to expand...

Probably two main reasons, one is that Apple has not exposed display colouring to the public API (and it does not allow developers to use private APIs) and two that Apple allows apps on the assumption that they are restricted to their own active screen time and not able to interfere with other apps or the system as a whole.
 
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