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What's the significance or "big deal" of Dark Mode?
- Thread starter Luba
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Plenty of people like to have the option for aesthetic reasons as well as so that things are easier on their eyes in darker environments.
Sounds like they (Apple and Google) should have wrote up their OSes in Dark Mode first, and given us Light Mode as an option since Dark Mode saves battery power and easier on the eyes in darker environs.
Personal preference aside, and it is largely personal preference, there are few legitimate reasons for using the dark mode.
- If you have an OLED iPhone (X, XS, XS Max), switching to dark mode can prolong the battery life. Google's study show about 60% energy savings at 100% brightness and 14% at 50% brightness.
- While black on white is more readable, it causes fatigue if used for extended period. Most developers tend to use dark mode for this reason.
- On dimly lit room, such as bedside use before going to sleep, bright UI can cause discomfort.
- Photos tend to look better when set against a dark background.
Or have both options. But each one takes effort to create and maintain so usually one design is decided on and used until there's enough reason to change it or offer alternative options related to it.
The battery will only realize a savings on an OLED screen (as 'black' means those pixels are literally 'off').
The biggest reason why Dark Mode was so well received is basically an aesthetic thing. Lots of people wanted a choice, to run with a bright motif, or a dark one. Finally, now, there's a choice, and it's one that looks pretty cool. This makes people happy.
I am having the exact opposite reaction. I find it very jarring to use. Even in a dark environment. I wish there was a way to tone it down. So it is not as jarring to my eyes.
Not all options will fit everyone or will be implemented to everyone's liking, unfortunately, as is more or less usually the case with pretty much anything.
Certainly you won't understand if you're the kind of person who cranks up the brightness to 100%. But if you have any experience to use the phone at night when you're tired, you will know the value of Dark Mode. The battery savings is just a plus. The brightness settings in all my devices are always lower than 50%, it's not like if they're not bright at all.
Dark Mode is something to distract people away from the reality of life, which is death and taxes.
I actually find dark mode useful in bright lightning conditions, such as on a sunny day outside. Under that condition, I find light text on dark background is more legible than dark text on light background. Am I the only one who use dark mode this way?
I only wish that Dark Mode worked on Safari web pages. I'd love that. I'm using Firefox now because of its dark mode feature.
The reason I chose Apple over other phones was because it did use black text on white throughout the UI. I kept looking at the others and asking in phone shops how and if it was possible to switch to black text and they could never do it. I for one won’t be using dark mode, I find it more uncomfortable to use black on white even in a darkened room or at night.
I personally can’t wait for the rollout of iOS13, and the much needed dark mode. The thing that excites me most (if you could call it excitement lol) is the slight battery increase, and less strain on my eyes while using the phone in the dark.
I sort of want to try the beta but have had some bad experiences in the past using a beta too early. So I’m holding off for now.
Is the beta stable ? I’m tempted!
I sort of want to try the beta but have had some bad experiences in the past using a beta too early. So I’m holding off for now.
Is the beta stable ? I’m tempted!
Has anyone tried Dark Mode on a non-OLED display? How does it look? Does it hurt the battery?
On LCD, the battery life remains the same. The backlit is lit even across the entire screen. If iPhone had local dimming, it could lead to improved battery. But I am not aware of any mobile phones with local dimming display.
Other 3 benefits apply to LCD of course.
As for how it looks, there are many apps with true dark mode already and you can open various screenshots on the LCD iPhone. I think it looks fine on either display, but not everyone likes the same thing.
Looks great and saves battery. I’ve always preferred apps that take on a darker translucent look. Apple has done it really well with iOS 13 also.
Apple just recently (end of 2017) released a phone that would benefit from the battery saving feature of dark mode. Theoretically they should have released it then along with the iPhone X.... But we know Apple takes their time with releases. And while Dark mode looks cool and has some benefits I don't think it's conducive to viewing content outside in the daylight or in a brightly lit room which is where most people use their devices. This is why its not the main interface released, but rather an option.
I think the idea of dark mode is cool, and can understand why people would like it aesthetically, especially on OLED iPhones. But myself I was never very interested in it, until I tried it on an iPad Pro this week. In the evening / night in darker environments, its been so much nicer. Can’t believe how much I enjoy this aspect of it.
It does work in Safari - but it is up to the website to support dark mode. Macstories.net is a good example if you want to try it out.
It does work in Safari - but it is up to the website to support dark mode. Macstories.net is a good example if you want to try it out.
Websites really need to up their game when it comes to dark mode. I often take notes from websites in the evening and I find the transition from the eye-relaxing dark mode in the notes app to the eye-melting bright white of a website really jarring.
Me too.
I agree, that in pictures it looks a lot nicer for some reason... but personally speaking there must be something weird about my eyes because I cannot look at white text on a black background for long before experiencing discomfort.
I certainly couldn't read a paragraph of text white on black.
As much as i'd like to use dark mode for the aesthetic and possibly battery saving benefits, its not something I can use - so its not for everyone - so I don't really see what all the fuss is about
I don’t know if it’s iOS 13 or dark mode but I’ve been using it since I installed it and my battery has been amazing.