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AP Photo/Eric Risberg

Turns out Android won't get its own night mode anytime soon

It was in the works but won’t be included in the next version of Android as it wouldn’t be ready in time.

THE NEXT VERSION of Android is currently in the works with no solid release date yet (apart from being available “later this summer”) but one feature that was in the works for it has been dropped.

Night mode is a setting that changes the screen temperature from blue to orange at night time to help reduce eye strain. There are a number of third-party apps like Twilight that offer such a feature while Apple introduced its own version earlier this year.

Ideally, a version that comes as standard would be handier for users and would result in wider adoption, but while it’s was in the works, it won’t be included in Nougat, the next version of Android.

In a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) involving the team working on Nougat, one of its developers said the team was working on two types of night mode: dark theme and screen tinting.

For dark theme, it was killed off because it “simply wasn’t possible to convert content to a dark theme while preserving the content author’s original intent”.

As for screen tinting, the amount of work to ensure it was battery efficient and ensure it would automatically activate at the correct time meant it was only half-finished and not worth adding.

The latter, screen tinting, was built on top of the display accessibility APIs introduced in M. This was another “ultimately for the benefit of the platform” issue… It wouldn’t be ready in time for N, and it wasn’t acceptable to leave a half-working feature so we had to pull it. It have (sic) been really rewarding to see positive feedback for the feature, though, and I would love to see it in a future release.

As for messaging apps, more details about Google’s upcoming messaging and video calling services, Allo and Duo, have emerged.

According to a beta tester on the Android subreddit who has been testing both since May, both of them will be default apps on Nougat. Both apps will only work on the one device to start, but they will become Google’s answer to Apple’s messaging services.

Allo and Duo will become direct competition to Apple’s iMessage and FaceTime. This (sic) two apps are very important for Google and things will be done little by little mostly to avoid even more drama with the EU.

Google Showcase Google first revealed Allo and Duo at its developer conference back in May. AP Photo / Eric Risberg AP Photo / Eric Risberg / Eric Risberg

Google’s messaging apps strategy has caused some confusion thanks to it having two different versions: Hangouts, which integrates with Gchat and SMS, and Messenger, its SMS-only service.

This is further complicated by some third-party manufacturers like Samsung or Huawei include their own messaging apps, leading to duplication, but others like HTC have avoided this.

Hangouts is expected to be phased out bit by bit because, according to the beta tester, it used mostly by businesses.

Read: Are people really doing more Google searches for Pokemon Go than for porn? >

Read: Unlock your phone with your finger? Then you should also replace your PIN >

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    Mute John Campbell
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    Dec 5th 2016, 7:25 AM

    Sounds like one of the good politicians. Meanwhile here in Ireland we have Bertie Ahearn one of the rotten ones trying to sneak back in “just to give a hand”. Hahahahahahahahahahah!!

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    Mute Edmond Mc Grath
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    Dec 5th 2016, 8:00 AM

    Highly unusual for a politician to resign at the top of his game. Normally it’s a forced resignation after a major scandal or rejection at the polls!

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    Mute sheridan
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    Dec 5th 2016, 9:17 AM

    Enda Kenny, for Gods sake take a leaf from this guys book you muppet!

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    Mute David Thomas
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    Dec 5th 2016, 2:37 PM

    When has enda ever been on top of the game?

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    Mute Brendan Hughes
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    Dec 5th 2016, 4:34 PM

    Right before FG got elected. Just then for about 2 weeks.

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    Mute Alois Irlmaier
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    Dec 5th 2016, 5:29 PM

    @Edmond Mc Grath: There is a big global economic crash coming down the line?

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    Mute Shawn O'Ceallaghan
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    Dec 6th 2016, 12:29 AM

    If this guy said he want to privatise state assets would you still think hes one of the good ones?

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    Mute Fiona Fitzgerald
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    Dec 6th 2016, 12:47 AM

    Ah, stop, the country can’t afford to be paying more state pensions.

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    Mute Unitedpeople
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    Dec 5th 2016, 8:02 AM

    At least he had the good sense to know when to step away.
    …Unlike someone else that more close to home in Ireland!

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    Mute Smiley
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    Dec 5th 2016, 9:59 AM

    There’s something going on that doesn’t smell right. We wait with bated breath.

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    Mute Dave O Keeffe
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    Dec 5th 2016, 12:38 PM

    This is a former banker turned politician, who supports TPP and has partly privatised much of the infrastructure of the country. You fools, he is Enda Kenny except for the banking bit

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    Mute Unitedpeople
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    Dec 5th 2016, 12:51 PM

    @Dave O Keeffe: Maybe he steeped away as a TTP agenda he might have had, is screwed now?
    Many just wish he would take Enda (and Fine Gael) with him on the way out of politics!

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    Mute Dave O Keeffe
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    Dec 5th 2016, 1:40 PM

    That would be a Christmas miracle

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    Mute Alois Irlmaier
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    Dec 5th 2016, 5:28 PM

    @Dave O Keeffe: The 3 Spirits visiting Enda this Christmas, C.J. Garrat and Lemass, Dev was suppose to come but he can’t see very well…

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    Mute Oisín O'Connor
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    Dec 5th 2016, 8:49 AM

    So English is Key?

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    Mute Neal, not Neil.
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    Dec 5th 2016, 4:31 PM

    Never heard of him.

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    Mute Alois Irlmaier
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    Dec 5th 2016, 5:25 PM

    @Neal, not Neil.: And yet he exists… lol.

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    Mute Alois Irlmaier
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    Dec 5th 2016, 5:25 PM

    After TPP fell through?

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