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Outlook Web Mail Service To Gain Highly Requested 'Dark Mode'

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Enthusiasm for interface dark modes appears to be catching. The Verge reports that Microsoft is planning to introduce such a mode to its Outlook.com web mail service, which has around 400 million active users.

The dark mode for Outlook.com is one of the most highly requested features for Microsoft's web mail service, according to listings on the Outlook.com feedback site.

outlook-halloween-dark-mode-800x399.jpeg
The https://t.co/0b8YLi7Qx0 Halloween theme is quite something pic.twitter.com/JIMc3ZSlPS - Tom Warren (@tomwarren) October 27, 2017
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Testing of the new color scheme - reminiscent of last year's Outlook Halloween theme - has been underway over the last few months, according to Microsoft, which has already started teasing the new-look web interface online.

Responding to a feedback post, one Outlook.com team member had this to say:
One reason for the delay is our insistence that we deliver the best Dark Mode of any leading email client (you'll understand when you see it, I guarantee). The sneak preview you saw last year at Halloween was a prototype that required a lot more work to be ready for prime time. We've redesigned the colors and code multiple times and are proud to enter the final stretch.
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Many MacRumors readers will no doubt be aware of the desktop Dark Mode that Apple is introducing in macOS Mojave. While the company is yet to have announced a similar mode for iOS, many third-party mobile apps have already adopted the color scheme, including Twitter, Reddit, Twitch, and YouTube.

Article Link: Outlook Web Mail Service To Gain Highly Requested 'Dark Mode'
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2018/07/05/microsoft-teases-dark-mode-for-outlook/
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I may be showing my age but I don’t get the reasons behind the trend to make programs, apps or OS’s ‘Dark Mode’. To me these seem purely a pallet change, and one that some people may like and some not. On the apps I’ve seen a few features have also changed but those new features and all of the old ones don’t DEPEND on the color pallet being set to any tone, that to me is just a personal preference. And 2-5 years from now the ‘excitement’ will be with the ‘brighter’ or ‘colorful’ or whatever marketing term a change in screen displays is deemed fashionable then.

Or am I completely missing something here?
 
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EdT said:
Or am I completely missing something here?
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I mean I think there's two reasons for this:
1) People assume it to be 'pro', so therefore if they have dark mode, they are 'pro'
2) It does actually serve a purpose (which is why 'pro' apps such as FCP have used it for years). Against a dark background, colours tend to be more visible, which is good when you're working with visual content, such as video, and it's also easier on the eyes (which is why many programmers have used a light-on-dark colour palette for years)
 
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buckyballs said:
2) It does actually serve a purpose (which is why 'pro' apps such as FCP have used it for years). Against a dark background, colours tend to be more visible, which is good when you're working with visual content, such as video, and it's also easier on the eyes (which is why many programmers have used a light-on-dark colour palette for years)
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Dark mode is a heck of a lot easier on the eyes... especially if you read longer content. Ars Technica mobile does a great dark mode.

EdT said:
So the phrase should have been “Come to the DOS Side”?
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That actually made me giggle.:)
 
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Why are people choosing to use Outlook.com so much?

On Windows, I use the Outlook app. On macOS and iOS, I use the stock mail app. If I wanted to check mail on *nix (never have before - never have really used it as a main computer before) I'd use Thunderbird, I imagine. The only thing I use the website for is for setting mail rules once a year or so (mostly I can just set and forget those) and on iOS that's how I access shared calendars the ~once a year when I actually need those, since the iOS stock Calendar app doesn't seem to support those.
 
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First they blacked out our iPods then they blacked out our cars, they blacked out our clothing and now our web-applications.
 
Outlook isn't really offering anything new here. Postbox is better, but I still prefer Apple Mail. But I'll Outlook it if MS brings back the mini-project manager that was built into Entourage. It's a shame they got rid of it.
 
It amazes me that it took until this long for a feature such as "dark mode" to be available. Occasionally I try the invert colors feature so I can get proper white text on black background, but I never quite get used to all the other crazyness associated with inverted colors, so I switch back.
 
buckyballs said:
2) It does actually serve a purpose (which is why 'pro' apps such as FCP have used it for years). Against a dark background, colours tend to be more visible, which is good when you're working with visual content, such as video,
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Yup.

buckyballs said:
and it's also easier on the eyes (which is why many programmers have used a light-on-dark colour palette for years)
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It depends. But mostly, no, dark on light is actually easier on the eyes.
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idiiamots said:
it has most feature you need to read/write email without the overhead of a full app.
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What is “the overhead of a full app”? A web app has, among other things, a browser it needs to run inside. Its overhead is far greater.
 
AlliFlowers said:
If dark mode was so good, why are books still printed in black ink on white paper?

Count me as another one who doesn't get the attraction. Maybe it is an age thing.
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Printing a while page with black ink only to have white text on it would be a waste of ink AND you'd run into issues where the ink 'seeps' into the white text making it difficult to read. Not worth it.

E-book readers on the other hand....
 
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AlliFlowers said:
If dark mode was so good, why are books still printed in black ink on white paper?

Count me as another one who doesn't get the attraction. Maybe it is an age thing.
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Not to mention a lot of books use a yellow paper.

The problem too is that reading a white paper book indoors is a 2700 K color temperature, 5000 K in the sunlight/office, but monitors are at least a 6500 K temperature, often higher if not calibrated. A very blue color that doesn't help eyestrain.
 
konqerror said:
Not to mention a lot of books use a yellow paper.

The problem too is that reading a white paper book indoors is a 2700 K color temperature, 5000 K in the sunlight/office, but monitors are at least a 6500 K temperature, often higher if not calibrated. A very blue color that doesn't help eyestrain.
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I'll stick with my black on white. You reach a certain age, you need all the light you can get.
 
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Dark Mode... Hmmm...
Yes, it makes a lot of sense for video-editing apps.
For reading your emails in your browser, naah, not so much.
 
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DocMultimedia said:
When is the MacRumors dark mode getting released?
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I've been using dark mode here for months! It's not perfect but it works for me.

Install Chrome. Install the epichrome SSB and create a new SSB app that directs to "https://forums.macrumors.com" and save the SSB with whatever name you choose, and install the "Dark Reader" Extension from the Chrome Web Store.

I've got a bunch of these SSBs - Feedly, Wunderground, Sigalert, Google Play Music - all with their own set of extensions and cookies and settings.

Brilliant. But not blinding... :cool:
 
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