Future Dark Mode vs Current Implementation
A “dark mode” has been on the wish list of Apple fans through many software revisions of macOS and iOS. Many feel as though it’s more aesthetically pleasing to look at. However, that’s hardly the only reason people want a dark mode. It can also feel easier on the eyes, especially at night, when your eyes have adjusted to darkness already. Dark modes improve battery life on OLED devices like the iPhone X, many Android devices, and some monitors. Finally, and this is surprising, but dark modes may also help you sleep. Because I want to limit eye strain and keep a healthy sleep schedule, I often use a dark mode, and, perhaps most importantly, wear my Felix Gray glasses any time I’m staring at a computer screen for a longer period of time.
Dark mode is certainly in demand, but every year, Apple disappoints us. This year could be different. Not only does Apple now sell a device that’s perfect for a dark mode (the iPhone X), they’ve also done work on a “Smart Invert” feature for iOS. This inverts the usually white on dark colors of the web and apps, without inverting photos. On top of that, macOS has enabled a dark menu bar and dock since Yosemite, and hidden options have shown that Apple has been working on a dark mode for quite some time. Finally, thanks to buttons and drop down menus in WebKit, an open sourced web project Apple is heavily involved with, it seems as though Apple’s preparing the web for an operating system-wide dark mode.
This might be it!
Why Dark Mode Hasn’t Come
Just a few of the visual elements that don’t look right with dark mode enabled.
Apple knows we want a dark mode. They know their users are clamoring for the feature. Why haven’t they given it to us? Simply put, it’s kind of ugly right now. There are many different ways to implement dark mode. I use an extension in Firefox, but none of the options really make the screen any easier to view. Buttons and other views are often obscured by the colorization, meaning I can’t see some elements when I use dark mode.
Then there’s the invert colors option. Firefox for iOS has this option, as it’s one of the few customization Apple will allow Mozilla to do with their iOS browser. This permits all items on the page to display, but it’s fixing a precise issue with a blunt instrument. Many items will look ugly, images may get inverted, and pages that are already dark will blind you. Furthermore, it brings us to one of the core issues: OS elements won’t be dark. Bringing up your keyboard in Firefox for iOS with dark mode enabled will blind you. Buttons and popups from the OS will as well. And buttons on the web that are defined by the OS’s style will clash with the dark background. That’s what the latest update to WebKit is supposed to fix.
The Evidence of a macOS Dark Mode
This is what happens when you build WebKit without the OS version checks and implement effectiveAppearance on NSApplication to return the dark appearance (notice the button and pop up). Dark Mode ® pic.twitter.com/svWS48FCge
— Guilherme Rambo (@_inside) April 21, 2018
WebKit is the engine that many browsers, Safari and Chrome included, are based on. Apple is a heavy contributor to the WebKit project. So, when we see changes implemented that will specifically be used in macOS, citing features that don’t exist yet, we can get a clue as to what Apple’s planning. In the screenshots at the top of this post, we can see the same webpage rendered with two different inputs for operating system version. The one on the left shows the view when the website sees the operating system has a dark theme. The version on the right is what displays for current versions of macOS. It’s clear: Apple’s preparing the web for dark mode.
Without this feature, websites won’t look right if the operating system is in dark mode. Have you ever known Apple to push products that don’t look right? Well, ignoring Control Center and the skeuomorphism in early versions of iOS, of course not. Apple focuses intently on making their operating systems beautiful and easy to use. They wouldn’t allow a dark mode that hurt the design of their product. With Apple’s latest updates to WebKit in place, it looks like Apple’s finally preparing for a true dark version of macOS. As someone who frequently works late, either on programming or writing, I can’t wait.
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