First Look at F.Lux for Android
F.Lux for Android brings the same day and night shifting of colors from the desktop to rooted Android devices.
One of my must have Windows programs is F.Lux which makes the colors of the screen adapt to the time of day. The main idea behind the feature is to make the screen more pleasing to the eye at night and to improve sleep for those of us who work on the computer late at night.
The Android version of F.Lux offers similar functionality but is limited to Android 5.x devices or newer devices for the most part and requires root on top of that.
Some Android 4.x devices may work according to the author provided that they are rooted, but since there is no supported device list available, it comes down to trial and error to find out if your device is supported.
F.Lux for Android
If your Android device supports F.Lux you will notice that it works in pretty much the same way as the desktop version.
It detects your location automatically and will change the color of the screen based on the time of day. There is no option to set a location manually on the other hand which means that you need to allow F.Lux to use the device's location feature to detect it automatically.
You can modify the behavior somewhat but not as detailed as in the desktop versions of the program.
Basically, it allows you to set lighting preferences for daytime, sunset and bedtime. You only get options to switch between four or five lighting preferences in that regard unlike on the desktop, where you can set the values in 100K steps.
Other options provided in the settings include setting a wake up time, enabling darkroom mode which changes the screen to red text on a black background for late at night uses, and to disable F.Lux for the time being.
The author of the app notes that some applications interfere with F.Lux while it is running. This is for instance the case for Netflix and his assumption is that this is done to accommodate DRM applications. A fix for the issue is in the works however.
Another thing that F.Lux users need to be aware of is that they should disable F.Lux before removing the application from the device. Failing to do so requires a reboot of the device to go back to the regular color use on the device.
Closing Words
F.Lux for Android is a useful application for users who use their device at night or in the darkness. The apps' reliance on root makes it less easy to set up than on the desktop though.
Twilight is another Android app that offers a similar functionality but does not require root.
Why not “LUX”??!! [I mean LUX-Simple brightness something something! AHA! I remember! its name is “Lux Auto Brightness” ]
It has all features of f.lux, cf.lumen & twilight in one place and in addition to that it control the brightness automatically; 90 to 95 % of features work without root and with root access you can use plugins with it including controlling brightness of HUE Philips wifi lamps. Any way the best program for PC isnt f.lux, maybe you think that way because its free but the fact is the best Eye-Aid app is IRIS although its android version like all other PC eye aid app which ported to Android is too buggy and simple.
I would wait until installing this app. I tried it for a few days and the number of issues was high. The filter would come on and off randomly. Disabling the effect did not stick. And worst of all, even after I uninstalled the app the effect remained. I had to re-install, disable quickly, then uninstall for it to be “fixed”.
Try Chainfire’s “CF. Lumen”
Thanks for the suggestion, I think I will stick this instead due to f.Luxes root requirement.
I had been looking for the Android app of this program during the week with no avail, I am disappoint to find-out that it requires the smartphone to be rooted because I had updated the OS just the week prior, therefore I doubt there will be any chance to root anytime soon.
How can I get the lockscreen with coffee and the clock like yours?
Don’t know, it is a theme of my Mi4c phone that I downloaded from the integrated store.
I use LiveDisplay in Cyanogenmod which is opensource and very happy with it
I use my autohotkey script for this :D
On the PC (win7) I use SunSetScreen – http://www.skytopia.com/software/sunsetscreen/
It does allow manual sunset and sunrise, which is perfect for a night-owl like myself. I’ll email the developer asking if an android version is a possibility. A custom sunset and sunrise is an essential feature for me.
I remember reading how they were going to release one for android. I was looking forward to it because I use F.lux on my desktop and was using twilight on my android. twilight worked well unless a root request or app install prompt came up and you can’t click it without disabling twilight.
Then I discovered CF.lumen, fell in love and bought the app.
Waited a long time for this app. It’s better than a similar apps (Twilight, CF. lumen). Other apps look unutural (they change color for some elements).
Why Google Play store list search “F.lux” or “justgetflux” on bottom (10th place)?