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IrisTech Review [2023]: #1 Best Blue Light Filtering App?

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byNick

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5 Minutes

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You’re exhausted. You’re just finishing a long day of work, and want to enjoy your evening.

Your eyes fatigue from staring at screens, and your physical and mental energy drops.

After a long day of work, you feel drained.

I use a special app that prevents this situation altogether. It automatically runs in the background of my computer and protects my eyes, energy, and sleep.

Initially, I turned to blue light blocking computer glasses for protection. Then I discovered a far more powerful option that doesn’t require any fragile (and hideous) headwear.

Today I’m covering one of the first and most important apps that I install on any new computer. In this IrisTech review, I’ll explain how to choose between the top blue-light filtering apps, how you can get IrisTech for free, and why I happily upgraded to Pro.

IrisTech protects your energy, sleep, and vision better than any blue blocking computer glasses. Click To Tweet
Get IrisTech Now

Saves Your Eyes, Feel Less Drained

What do brains and software have in common?

Computer screens actually flicker HUNDREDS of times per second. Perceivable to your brain, but not to the eye. Behind the scenes, your brain filters out the flickering for you.

But that comes at a cost.

Your brain constantly works to filter the rapid flickering of computer screens. Filtering flicker drains your energy, causes headaches, and eye strain. Click To Tweet

You could upgrade to a flicker-free monitor, but that’s expensive, uses a ton of electricity, and isn’t portable.

Better yet.

Certain blue light filtering software can use your computer’s video card to filter the flicker for you.

Instead of filtering out light flickering, IrisTech saves your brainpower for more important uses.

The difference is night and day.

How Blue Light Wrecks Sleep & How IrisTech Boosts Your Energy

Speaking of night.

I don’t check my email late in the evening. But occasionally something urgent and important comes up.

An email doesn’t deserve to wreck my sleep quality.

Late night screen usage has two problematic qualities:

  1. It’s bright
  2. It’s blue

Even the dimmest brightness settings blast you with light. Confusing the brain. Generally,

  • Brightness signals daytime.
  • Darkness signals nighttime.

Bright light increases wakefulness hormones.

Light color matters too.

Think about sunrise and sunset.

“Golden hour”, the time around sun rise and sunset, gets its name for the rich blend of red, orange, and pink light.

During midday, however, blue light dominates.

Phones, computers, electronics, and modern technology emit mostly blue light. Signaling daytime to your brain and body. Production of the sleep hormone melatonin stops.

You end up with…

Insomnia, poor sleep quality, and then fatigue.

All of a sudden you need more sleep time just to offset the worse sleep quality. Otherwise, you wake up groggier than normal, and grab an extra cup of coffee.

Perpetuating a vicious cycle.

You have several options to keep your sleep hormones high so that you sleep better:

  1. Put away the screens for two hours before bed.
  2. Wear blue-blocking glasses.
  3. Make the devices emit less blue light.

Advanced IrisTech algorithms filter the blue light out of your screen. Only the natural evening colors like pink, orange, and red remain. That way you’ll still sleep great even when using your computer late at night. Without needing blue-blocking glasses.

Other software has done the same thing for years, but to a lesser degree.

IrisTech vs. F.lux vs. Night Shift

I used both f.lux and Night Shift for years.

f.lux came first. Then Apple noticed f.lux’s passionate community, and a decade later followed suit, building the “Night Shift” feature into macOS. Both reduce blue light emissions.

Each has its own pros and cons.

FeatureIrisTechf.luxNight Shift
PriceFreemiumFreeFree
Setup processEasyEasyNone (Built-In)
SimplicityModerateEasyEasy
Filtering capabilitiesAdvancedBasicBasic
Blocks screen flicker (PWM)YesNoNo
Blue-blocking abilityAdvancedModerateLimited
CustomizationAdvancedModerateLimited
IrisTech vs. f.lux vs. Night Shift Blue Filtering Apps Comparison Table

Night Shift and f.lux are both better than nothing. Iris, however, is the blue-blocking app choice for biohackers, high-performers, and health optimizers.

IrisTech is f.lux/Night Shift on steroids, with powerful features customizable to your unique lifestyle. Click To Tweet

IrisTech: Highly Customizable to Any Lifestyle

iris custom
Many other advanced options are not pictured (notice scroll bar)

I’ve tried 7 blue blocking apps.

I like Iris because it caters to both technophobes and techies alike.

It runs in the background like anti-virus software. You complete the initial setup once, and protects you around the clock.

Hackers will appreciate all the bells and whistles it offers.

IrisTech: Easy Preset Modes

iris presets
I mostly use Health, Sleep, Custom, and Biohacker.

With the click of a button in your computer’s task bar, you can change the mode to accommodate any situation.

This setting optimizes the other settings for the intended purpose. For example:

  • Movie mode emphasizes accurate colors at the expense of not filtering quite as much blue light.
  • Biohacker mode inverts white and black to make reading at night easier. Great for the nocturnal or late-night emails.
  • Reading mode makes the screen more comfortable to read long articles. Similar to reading on the eye-friendly Kindle Paperwhite.

IrisTech: Extreme Color, Light, and Brightness Control (Boosting and Reducing)

iris brightness
Increasing brightness to 150% (above the normal maximum).

Your screen is capable extreme brightness. And energy-saving ultra-low brightness.

I found this feature by accident. At noon, when the sun is naturally at its highest, I can set my brightness to 120 percent of my computer’s normal. Then I can actually see the screen while in direct sunlight.

In addition to brightness, you can choose you preferred color tint.

You have a much greater window of potential screen colors. All the way from bright blue, to dark red. You can choose whichever color you fancy. More importantly, however:

With IrisTech you can reduce blue light more than any other software.

IrisTech: Granular Customization

iris controls
I setup Iris to match the color of natural sunlight.

You can control transition timings and colors, and build your perfect schedule.

It’s not just light and dark.

My screen closely mirrors the setting sun’s brightness and color. Before sleep, my screen has a dim, red hue. I don’t notice it, because the transition happens gradually over many hours.

Iris comes with the transition controls built-in, or you can define your own.

I didn’t find the same color transition customizability in other apps.

IrisTech: Keyboard Shortcuts

iris keyboard
IrisTech keyboard shortcuts save time and energy

I’m a productivity nerd and use keyboard shortcuts for everything.

You can control the entire app using nothing but the keyboard.

From turning filtration on and off, to starting Pomodoro timers, to adjusting brightness or screen color. Daniel, the apps developer, thought of everything.

IrisTech: App Exclusions (Color Pausers)

iris pauser
I don’t use many graphical color-sensitive apps, but you can define which apps shouldn’t be filtered.

This is a favorite among graphic designers, entrepreneurs, and those that work with colors or images.

Take Photoshop for example.

You can specify apps to completely exclude from color filtering. If you need to get the color right, you can’t have some other software skewing the way it looks. With most blue-blocking software (or even glasses), you’re in for a nasty surprise. When you finish the project you’ll realize the unintended consequences of blue light blocking on color.

None of the colors came out the way they should.

I made this mistake more than once in my f.lux days. I had to go back and adjust all the color settings for each photo I edited.

IrisTech: Perfect for Dual Monitor, Docking Stations, and TVs

iris dock

Do you work with external monitors?

Iris has you covered.

This software performs equally as well in your home or office workstation.

Keep your settings the same and harness the power of IrisTech however you mirror your computer’s screen.

Pro tip: Run Iris, connect your laptop to a TV, and stream a movie or show. You get the blue light and flicker reduction of Iris on your TV.

IrisTech: Pomodoro Timer Built-In

iris timer

The Pomodoro technique is a popular productivity strategy to get more done in less time.

A slew of cross-platform apps dedicate themselves just to Pomodoro.

As a bonus, Iris has it built-in. It can remind you to take a break at a specific interval.

I set mine for somewhere between 30 and 50 minutes and take quick micro-workout breaks throughout the day.

Get IrisTech For Free (or Upgrade to Pro for Powerful Features)

Your eyes determine your energy level. Fatigue them from heavy screen use without breaks, and by evening you’ll walk away tired, apathetic, and feeling meh.

Don’t let work degrade your precious free time.

Feeling is believing.

Once you use Iris you won’t have tolerance for bright, harsh light coming off your screens.

If you don’t want to install anything, Night Shift is a good introduction into blue blocking software.

You can use Iris Mini totally FREE. See if you like it. That’s what I did. Iris Mini is simple and works well. Only after I had thoroughly evaluated it did I decide to go Pro. I haven’t looked back.

Iris  Blue light filter for Eye Protection

When you’re ready to reclaim your energy, save your eyes, and upgrade your sleep, IrisTech Pro has you covered. Click the image above to get IrisTech free, or for an exclusive discount on IrisTech Pro.

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Post Tags: Energy, Gear, Sleep

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