Over the past 3-5 years, Dark mode has become
increasingly popular. Its popularity has seen significant organizations, such
as Apple, who recently adopted it in their operating system, bring out the mode
on different devices. It has also been a welcomed addition on many other
devices by other retailers. But what is it, and why is it so popular?
What is Dark Mode?
Dark Mode is a feature that can be found on many
devices that lets users switch the color scheme of their app or their entire
desktop operating system from bright whites to dark shades, mostly black or a
color close to it.
Despite the futuristic look, it gives your apps
(as most apps use bright colors) a darker side. Using dark mode makes it
easier, for some, to look at the screens, especially if they are looking at
them for long periods. Dark Mode can also help save battery life, especially if
you are using a device with an OLED screen. Dark Mode helps to improve visibility
for those users who are sensitive to bright light or who have low vision.
Benefits of Dark mode
The dark setting offers users a dark UI in each
new window or app of the operating system, and its befits include improved
readability of text, reduced eye fatigue, less blue light, better contrast and
less flickering. For some, these small changes can make a significant
difference. The use of blue light, especially on a white background, can be
quite harmful and can affect individuals differently. This is especially true
for those who have a sensitivity to blue light or even bright lights.
Eye strain is also very common amongst those who
are frequently looking at their screens on computers, smartphones or even the television for long periods and can cause eyes to feel strained,
causing fatigue. There are, of course, some disadvantages to dark mode, some
claiming one of the biggest problems is that it makes users less productive,
but that might be their own lack of will.
Today, many devices officially support dark mode.
It is now available in iOS 13 and Google supports the mode in Andoird 10. The
dark mode is also available on many popular apps such as Instagram, Twitter and
Google Chrome. Here is how you can get dark mode on your devices.
Dark mode on iPhone
To get dark mode on your iPhone users will need
to download iOS 13. On this platform, you will find that
many of Apple’s major apps have jumped shipped and sailed into the dark side.
To enable dark mode, simply go to your settings and scroll down to ‘Display
& Brightness’ and select ‘Dark Mode’. Another way is to swipe down or up to
access the Control Center and then tap and hold on the brightness dial which
will prompt a dark mode button to appear on the left corner.
Dark mode on Android
The name for the dark mode by Google is called
‘Dark Theme’ and is launched in Andoird 10. To activate is on Android 10 go to
your settings and click on display where you will find an option for ‘Dark
Theme’. If your phone does not support Andriod 10 yet, you may be able to
enable dark mode in another way, depending on the type of phone you have.
For those of you who own a Samsung phone which
houses Android 9 Pie, through the Samsung One UI, you can turn on ‘Night Mode’ by going to settings and then
into the display option where you will find Night Mode. The good news is if you
have Android 9 Pie, users can enable Night Mode to remain on at all times but
for this to be possible, users will need to have Developer options on their
smartphones which give you access to some extra features.
To enable developer options, go to Settings, then
click on ‘About Phone’. At the bottom, you will see a “Build Numer’, click on
this seven times and it will give you access to developer options. Then, in
settings, go to system, advanced, developer options and scroll down until you
see Night Mode, which will be located near the bottom. Here you can set it to
always on.
If you find that none of the above seems to work
or do not offer you the type of support you expected, there are many apps on
the on Google Play store and the AppStore which you can download to get Dark
Mode like feature on your Smartphone. However, keep in
mind that apps that offer this do sometimes come with limitations.
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