Apple might be looking to make Night Shift an integral and easily accessible part of iOS, as an official screenshot posted to the company's website shows Control Center implementation on an iPad Air 2.
Control Center access to Night Shift as seen on Apple Canada's iOS 9.3 Preview page (left) compared to US version.
As discovered by a Reddit user on Wednesday, Apple Canada's iOS 9.3 Preview webpage reveals an iPad Control Center menu with Night Shift activation icon next to the existing brightness slider control. Seen above, a contextual pop-up menu shows further options for "Turn On For Now" and "Turn On Until Tomorrow," suggesting constant-on and time-based automation modes, respectively.
By comparison, the promo shot on Apple's US preview page shows an iPhone displaying an identical image of Health, while the iPad is running the News app, not a home screen with Control Center overlay as seen on the Canadian webpage.
Current iOS 9.3 beta builds do not include a Night Shift button in Control Center.
Introduced in the first iOS 9.3 beta last week, Night Shift mode allows users to customize and control a device's display color temperature to offset physiological side effects of being exposed to cool blue light at night. When switched on, Night Shift automatically shifts display colors toward the warmer end of the spectrum. Colors return to normal in the morning.
In its current form, Night Shift can be accessed through the Display and Brightness settings menu, though the image discovered today suggests Apple plans to include similar options in Control Center.
It is unclear whether or not Apple intends to include Control Center access when iOS 9.3 launches, or if it will be an iPad-only feature. Screen brightness settings access in Control Center is limited to iPad and is not available on iPhone or iPod touch.