Something interesting happened last week, I realized iOS comes with a Light mode. Very funny I know, but this is quite a revelation for me. Ever since iOS 13 came out, I had switched to Dark mode on all my devices. The Apple Watch had always been a Dark mode device. Eventually every app and website got it and that’s how my life had been over the last 2 years. It was Dark mode every single place, tvOS, watchOS, macOS and of course iOS & iPadOS. Rather, I have always been a Dark mode person even before I started using Apple devices in 2018. On Android custom launchers allowed for a system wide Dark mode. Windows 10 was alway Dark mode by default and didn’t even have a Light mode for a while.
Though there are several reasons to use Dark mode, I used it primarily because it looks cool. All my devices now have a black bezel, and Dark mode makes the bezel almost imperceivable. Especially on the Apple Watch Series 7, it’s very difficult to know where the display ends and the bezel begins.
Dark mode also makes the content pop, makes you forget there is a UI hiding in the background. Especially with photos or in Visual Studio Code, it’s very nice to have a dark background. There are also battery savings that you might get with Dark mode on iPhone and Apple Watch. Lastly, I’ve always felt like Dark mode makes my eyes hurt less. Using Light mode felt like someone was pointing a flashlight onto my eyes, especially during night or in a dark room.
So after listing so many reasons to be using Dark mode, why did I switch to Light mode all of a sudden. There was a good reason for this, I realized I loved colors and aesthetics. It felt like everything looks the same in Dark mode, which is kinda the point of Dark mode. Every app has a black background and some gray/white UI on top (though I know some apps like Tweetbot have different dark mode themes). With Light mode I have been able to switch between a lot of colorful themes in different apps. Every app feels different to use and does not have the same generic backgrounds anymore. Also, there are some apps which don’t support Dark mode at all, and it was always a bit jarring to be suddenly thrown in a Light mode app when using dark mode. But the opposite is not true, every app has a Light mode (except Apple Watch stuff and Stocks). I also like how Light mode works great when I’m using devices outside in the sun which happens more frequently than I thought. I’m still getting used to having everything in Light mode, but I really like this change. I love seeing different colors and lighter UI’s now. It literally feels like a breath of fresh air.
At least for the next month I am going to be all in on Light mode. This feels like such a big deal, since i’ve preferred having Dark backgrounds for almost a decade. But I would love to hear in the comments what do you use? Are you a Light mode person or Sark mode. Or do you have auto switching between different modes.
