Tushar Mehta / Android Authority
I have never been the kind to rise and shine. For the 31 years of my existence — or, at least, for the major chunk I remember vividly, waking up early in the morning has been a woeful exercise for me, unless, of course, it is for traveling or hosting people I love. Instead, I can feel the neurons in my brain firing up better in the dead of the night, and so, I have made the effort to ensure the tech in my life is best suited to make better use of those hours.
That endeavor includes creating the perfect ambiance for work by setting desk lights to the minimum illumination, choosing color modes on my PC monitor that filter out certain shades, and ensuring my phone doesn’t sway me while working, or worse, strain my eyes due to extreme brightness or vivid colors in low light. So, with every device I use, I employ blue light filters from sunset to sunrise and find means to cut brightness beyond what the inbuilt slider allows. And in this process, I have come to develop a liking towards a single brand’s implementation.
The interface is HyperOS, and my weapon for demonstration today is the Xiaomi 15, a compact flagship from the company. Here’s how this one feature reformed my nighttime usage of the phone and why I have trouble leaving it for phones from other brands.
Do you use any of these features to use your phone better at night? 85 votes Extra Dim 36 % Blue or other color filters 45 % High PWM settings 6 % Reading Mode 11 % Others (tell us in the comments below) 2 %
Xiaomi’s Reading mode is unique
Tushar Mehta / Android Authority
Most phones offer their own versions of reading mode, primarily to enable you to read without straining your eyes. But what stands out to me is Xiaomi’s implementation of the feature in HyperOS; it’s also available on Xiaomi’s older MIUI interface and on Redmi and POCO-branded devices.
Turning the Reading mode on turns the screen warmer, following the principle of cutting out blue light. But it goes beyond just changing colors on the screen. I truly admire Xiaomi’s version because it brings an additional setting that enables a paper-like texture on top of the screen. This, of course, is achieved by software, much like what TCL’s NXTPAPER displays. When enabled, it can also desaturate the colors and make the display look like a colored E-Ink display, as seen on the Kindle Colorsoft or Boox’s Android e-readers, when looked at from a distance, especially at night when there’s little to no glare from external light sources.
HyperOS also allows cutting out colors entirely with a black & white mode. Although the said B&W filter is a standard Android feature, it makes for a more soothing visual experience when combined with the textured effect.
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