Microsoft Tests New Customizable Night Mode For Xbox Consoles And Controllers
One of the most annoying things about using any electronic device at night or in a dark room is the retina-searing, light mode that most apps have by default. Microsoft, however, has finally addressed this problem on Xbox consoles, and is working on a new night mode which is now available to beta testers.
Using the new Alpha Skip-Ahead ring, Xbox owners will be able to dim and filter their screens to help protect against sleep-affecting blue light emissions. Moreover, they will also be able to dim their console and controller LED brightness, so the normally bright white light is not so harsh. Coupling these new features with the dark mode system theme should then provide a much better night gaming experience.
Another nice addition is the scheduling of night mode, so the dimming and blue light filter can be set to automatically turn on at sunset and off at sunrise. The only catch with all of this is that localization is still a work-in-progress, so the feature is only available in English for now.
Despite this, it is still a positive development that Microsoft has added these features, as circadian rhythms altered by blue light exposure is a real problem for some users. Of course, this does not matter much if you are gaming through the night, but you get the idea. In any event, perhaps we will get some more customization features like this in the future, so stay tuned to HotHardware for updates as they become available.
