Official Wikipedia App Introduces Black Reading Theme for iPhone X OLED Screens

[MacRumors]

An update to the official Wikipedia app for iOS is currently rolling out with an all-new "Black" reading theme for iPhone X. The new display feature, which accompanies the existing dark mode, has been developed specifically with OLED devices in mind, according to the developers.

Not only does the true black theme look good on the new iPhone's 5.8-inch display, it also potentially offers energy-saving benefits, since black pixels in an OLED panel basically switch off and consume far less power, giving avid Wikipedia readers another reason to use the official app over the website.

In addition to the new theme, the Wikipedia app update promises faster article loading and less data use. The speed improvements are mostly down to the fact that images are no longer pre-loaded and now only download when they're about to be displayed or saved.

Wikipedia is just the latest app to add a true black theme to its display options, with other popular apps like Twitterrific and Bear Notes also having included similar features in the last few weeks.

A native Dark or "Night" mode for iOS is one of the most popular long-running user requests, but Apple has yet to officially add support for such a feature, despite the added technological rationale for one on iPhone X.

The closest option for iOS 11 users is the "Smart Invert" accessibility feature, which is basically a tweaked version of the classic "Invert Colors" that aims to avoid inverting colors in images, although it's pretty inconsistent in this regard. The option can be found in the Settings app in General -> Accessibility -> Display Accommodations -> Invert Colors.

The official Wikipedia app is a free download for iPhone and iPad from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Article Link: Official Wikipedia App Introduces Black Reading Theme for iPhone X OLED Screens

 

[JohnApples]

Pretty soon all apps with have a dark mode except Apple’s!

They really need to create a system-wide dark mode. Maybe with DarkKit so that app developers can have their dark modes automatically enables when the system-wide one is turned on.

 

[FelixDerKater]

iBooks needs this.

 

[NightFox]

I just don't get what the big thing about 'dark mode' is. Sure, I understand for some people it improves readability and others like the look, but I really don't understand why it's seen as such a massive newsworthy step every time an app developer spends five minutes of his lunch break changing the colours? (ok, maybe not 5 minutes, but you get my point)

Why is it so significant, what am I missing?

 

[adamjackson]

It works on all iPhone models, not just the iPhone X.

I want everything black. I prefer reading white on black. Instapaper and Reeder already have this enabled.

 

[jonnysods]

I wish iOS had dark mode. So much easier on the eyes and I feel like I read faster.

 

[solidfox]

iBooks needs this.

iBooks has a dark mode. But it’s really annoying on the iPhone X since the background is only almost black so it ends up looking like black on an LCD.

 

[stevenbeerbaum]

I implemented a dark mode in my app, but it would have been much easier of there was a native API. (auf anyone is interested: it’s called Planny)

 

[brian3uk]

I just don't get what the big thing about 'dark mode' is. Sure, I understand for some people it improves readability and others like the look, but I really don't understand why it's seen as such a massive newsworthy step every time an app developer spends five minutes of his lunch break changing the colours? (ok, maybe not 5 minutes, but you get my point)

Why is it so significant, what am I missing?

For me, I want dark mode because of inconsistent white tones in OLED displays. The every light colored app is making me crazy because of the pink/yellow tone on the top or edges of the display. I have already exchanged 3 times and finally have one that I can probably tolerate, but dark mode would save me a lot of annoyance.

 

[PastaPrimav]

Pretty soon all apps with have a dark mode except Apple’s!

They really need to create a system-wide dark mode. Maybe with DarkKit so that app developers can have their dark modes automatically enables when the system-wide one is turned on.

Haven't you seen the black smear effect when using OLED black, especially with any scrolling list application? It isn't a mystery why Apple isn't embracing it.
[doublepost=1513868243][/doublepost]

iBooks needs this.

If you lower the brightness enough with the "black" theme in iBooks, you achieve it.

 

[H.E. Pennypacker]

I just don't get what the big thing about 'dark mode' is. Sure, I understand for some people it improves readability and others like the look, but I really don't understand why it's seen as such a massive newsworthy step every time an app developer spends five minutes of his lunch break changing the colours? (ok, maybe not 5 minutes, but you get my point)

Why is it so significant, what am I missing?

Personal preference? Point is, why limit it if it’s a feature a lot of people want, sees to be a pretty easy addition that Apple can make.

 

[laz232]

I just don't get what the big thing about 'dark mode' is. Sure, I understand for some people it improves readability and others like the look, but I really don't understand why it's seen as such a massive newsworthy step every time an app developer spends five minutes of his lunch break changing the colours? (ok, maybe not 5 minutes, but you get my point)

Why is it so significant, what am I missing?

Why Dark mode: Reading after sundown (currently sundown before 4pm here) and better sleep hygiene when reading/using app in evening as there is a lot less light hitting the eyeballs.

 

[kdarling]

This is a long known design thing related to human vision.

White letters on dark backgrounds cause the overall contrast ratio to radically change depending on how much text there is. This causes more stress on the eyes. At night you can even see the transmitted light around you change from the display difference.

Dark letters on a light background provides more consistent contrast across the entire screen. The amount of light hitting your eyes does not radically change with more or less text. It is also easier for the eye to discern black letters on a white (or grey) background.

--
As for power savings, it's not that radical these days between on and off, especially when comparing OLED to LCDs with their always on backlight.

 

[NightFox]

For me, I want dark mode because of inconsistent white tones in OLED displays. The every light colored app is making me crazy because of the pink/yellow tone on the top or edges of the display. I have already exchanged 3 times and finally have one that I can probably tolerate, but dark mode would save me a lot of annoyance.

Personal preference? Point is, why limit it if it’s a feature a lot of people want, sees to be a pretty easy addition that Apple can make.

Why Dark mode: Reading after sundown (currently sundown before 4pm here) and better sleep hygiene when reading/using app in evening as there is a lot less light hitting the eyeballs.

Oh, I totally understand why people would want a dark mode (and often prefer it myself), I just don't understand why there always seems to be so much hype surrounding a black background, I used to think there must be something else that I just wasn't aware of when I heard people excited proclaiming that an app now had dark mode. And for that matter I also don't understand why devs don't just add it every time they add an app as it's clearly a feature that many people see as essential.

 

[jbc25]

I just don't get what the big thing about 'dark mode' is. Sure, I understand for some people it improves readability and others like the look, but I really don't understand why it's seen as such a massive newsworthy step every time an app developer spends five minutes of his lunch break changing the colours? (ok, maybe not 5 minutes, but you get my point)

Why is it so significant, what am I missing?

There's a lot of dudes who think it looks cool. That's basically it.

 

[C DM]

Oh, I totally understand why people would want a dark mode (and often prefer it myself), I just don't understand why there always seems to be so much hype surrounding a black background, I used to think there must be something else that I just wasn't aware of when I heard people excited proclaiming that an app now had dark mode. And for that matter I also don't understand why devs don't just add it every time they add an app as it's clearly a feature that many people see as essential.

It's basically that it had/has to be provided and not something that users can just decide to use when they want to if the option isn't provided already. So when the option appears it's something that those who have wished for it to be available could get excited about.
[doublepost=1513878860][/doublepost]

There's a lot of dudes who think it looks cool. That's basically it.

Why just "dudes" and why just "looks cool"?

 

[menace3]

iBooks needs this.

Ibooks does have a night theme. I've read this way on my ipad for years in bed

 

[Killa Aaron]

iBooks needs this.

Macrumors needs this.

 

[Perene]

All apps should have this feature. Here's a thread I created about it:

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...t-night-black-background-for-reading.2051591/

 

[FelixDerKater]

Ibooks does have a night theme. I've read this way on my ipad for years in bed

Dark grey doesn’t count. Dark colors don’t save battery like OLED black.

 

[HiRez]

iBooks has a dark mode. But it’s really annoying on the iPhone X since the background is only almost black so it ends up looking like black on an LCD.

Yeah, I really hate the dark gray instead of black. Hopefully this is just a low-priority item they haven't noticed for iPhoneX yet, but knowing Apple, it's "as intended". Another advantage with making the iBooks background pure black on OLED is there is no longer a need for a large margin around the text and they could fit more text on each page (at least an option for removing margins would be nice).

I have sort of gotten around this for dark-room reading. First, go into Settings > General > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut and select Reduce White Point. Then, to go even darker, go intoSettings > General > Accessibility > Display Accommodations, turn it on, and move the slider to 80% (this is something you can adjust later to taste. Then Settings > General > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut and select Reduce White Point. Now when you triple-click on the power button (iPhoneX), it will darken the screen even more than the minimum setting (another cripple-click toggles it back to normal).

Finally, in iBooks, select the dark gray background style (or keep auto night mode on) and turn the brightness slider in iBooks all the way down. Activate the dimming with the triple-click if it's not already on. At these settings, for me the dark gray background basically turns to black. The text will be very dim though, not everyone will love this and it will only be readable in a completely dark room.

Unfortunately Apple also made the white not pure white, so assigning Invert Colors to the shortcut no longer works in iBooks to make dark gray black.

 

[recoil80]

I think they'll introduce a dark mode with iOS 12 since they'll have more OLED products coming in 2018. This year was too soon, apart from X all their lineup is LCD, including the iPads.

I'd expect a major overhaul in iOS 12 for the dark mode and for one hand interaction. X has a taller display and the upper part is really hard to reach. I know you have reachability and you can swipe left to go back so you don't have to reach for the back button on the top, but when you open a modal view controller you need to close it via a button on the top part of the screen and that happens very often.