PSA: Siri Can Turn on Night Shift on Apple Watch - MacRumors
Skip to Content

PSA: Siri Can Turn on Night Shift on Apple Watch

The Apple Watch has a hidden feature for activating Night Shift on the device, a Reddit user discovered recently. If you ask Siri on the Apple Watch to turn on ‌Night Shift‌, ‌Siri‌ will do so, and the display will take on the dimmer, yellow hue that lowers blue light exposure.

apple watch night shift
It is not clear how long ‌Siri‌ has been able to activate ‌Night Shift‌ on the Apple Watch, but it seems to be recent. Apple has no documentation on ‌Night Shift‌ on Apple Watch, and it was not previously a watchOS 10 option. It's possible ‌Night Shift‌ is tied to watchOS 11, but it is not limited to devices running watchOS 11. We were able to use the feature on an Apple Watch Series 9 with watchOS 10 installed.

Activating ‌Night Shift‌ can only be done through ‌Siri‌, and there is no toggle in the Apple Watch Settings app or elsewhere on the device. ‌Siri‌ mentions scheduling ‌Night Shift‌ in the Settings app, but that's not an option at the current time in watchOS 10 or watchOS 11.

‌Night Shift‌ does not appear to be available on all Apple Watch models, with Reddit users unable to activate it on a Series 5 and lower.

The option to suddenly turn on ‌Night Shift‌ without an accompanying setting suggests that it is a feature that has been accidentally introduced, and the toggle could be introduced in a future version of watchOS 11 or an upcoming watchOS 10 update.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.4 Adds Two New Features to CarPlay

Tuesday March 24, 2026 1:55 pm PDT by
iOS 26.4 was released today, and it includes a couple of new features for CarPlay: an Ambient Music widget and support for voice-based chatbot apps. To update your iPhone 11 or newer to iOS 26.4, open the Settings app and tap on General → Software Update. CarPlay will automatically offer the new features so long as the iPhone connected to your vehicle is running iOS 26.4 or later....
Apple Business hero

Apple Unveils 'Apple Business' All-in-One Platform

Tuesday March 24, 2026 8:53 am PDT by
Apple today announced Apple Business, a new all-in-one platform that unifies device management, productivity tools, and customer outreach features. The service is designed to be a consolidated replacement for several of Apple's existing business-focused offerings, including Apple Business Essentials, Apple Business Manager, and Apple Business Connect. It provides organizations with a single...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 3, AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Tuesday March 24, 2026 12:31 pm PDT by
Apple today released new firmware for the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and the AirPods 4. The firmware has a version number of 8B39, up from 8B34 on the AirPods Pro 3, 8B28 on the AirPods Pro 2, and 8B21 on the AirPods 4. There is no word on what's included in the firmware, but Apple has a support document with limited notes. Most updates are limited to bug fixes and performance...

Top Rated Comments

contacos Avatar
23 months ago
Happy to report that this works in the EU as well
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
twocents Avatar
23 months ago
As a night owl, this is such a welcome change on my Ultra 2! It also shifts the flashlight to a warmer white tone
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sleep/to/dream Avatar
23 months ago

Are people staring at a watch so much that they need this?
Probably not but it always bugged me having my Apple watch be a different color temperature than my phone screen.

It’s like having soft white and daylight bulbs in the same room ***cringe***
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
23 months ago
worked on my series 7 w/watchOS 10, neat!
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
23 months ago

"Gazing at a screen that emits “blue light” before bed doesn’t seem to have a significant effect on sleep, scientists have said after reviewing the evidence."

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/science/article/staring-at-a-phone-before-bed-doesnt-interfere-with-your-sleep-8d6fw85gb
Whether or not it has an impact on sleep, it is definitely more comfortable on my eyes to have a warmer display later at night.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
23 months ago
This is fantastic, and also very weird.

Now I'm kind of nervous Apple will pull the plug and it will get stuck on.

This needs to sync with Night Shift on the phone for sure.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)