Is dark mode finally making its way to iOS? Seeing as it launched on macOS last year, and has been one of the most sought-after iOS features for some time now, it seemed likely. However, new screenshots, leaked from an upcoming version of iOS, seem to show dark mode reaching the home screen and several Apple apps.
But are these leaked screenshots indicative of dark mode, or simply a dark theming for iOS? Will users have a choice?
Dark Mode
It seems unlikely that Apple would only release a dark theme for a few apps and the home screen. After all, that’s a lot of work to just throw out an existing user interface. Some people might act actually prefer the lighter UI. I know, hard to believe, but they may exist.
The screenshots clearly show a dark version of the dock on the home screen, a dark version of the Apple Music app, and a dark version of the screenshot markup tool. Furthermore, according to the person who shared these leaked screenshots with 9to5Mac, iOS’s dark mode will also darken tab bars darker, and automatically switch some app’s backgrounds from white to black.
Dark mode doesn’t just save your eyes from glare at night, it can also improve your sleep and save battery life. Your eyes react to the blue light emitted by screens, slowing melatonin production and keeping you up later. Furthermore, blue light may cause eye damage and eye strain, as your eyes have difficulty focusing on it. Some studies showed blue light can actually damage retinas, though this hasn’t been connected directly to smartphone screens yet.
OLED displays, like those on the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, use more electricity to light up white pixels than they do black pixels. By using darker colors, you save a significant amount of battery life. A “hack” to enable a sort of dark mode by inverting colors and using grayscale on the iPhone X significantly improved battery life in tests. iOS 13 may bring a huge improvement for battery life for new iPhone owners, although, the iPhone XR will be left out, as it still uses an LED display.
New UI Elements
The screenshots also show a few new UI elements. Apple updated the Reminders app as well, to better help users plan out their day. However, it seems Apple still hasn’t figured out that reminders and the calendar should be in the same app. The screenshot even shows the user keeping the calendar open next to the new reminders app. Fantastical has combined these two features for some time, and it greatly improves the iCloud calendar/reminders relationship.
The most exciting new feature seems to be something that’s revealed by the iPad’s new markup features in the screenshot tool. This shows a window with the tools which the user can drag around the screen. iOS 13 could bring more draggable windows to the iPad.
Finally, we can see that Apple is combining Find My Friends and Find My iPhone into one app, just “Find My.” This will better indicate that the app can do more than find your iPhone, but any Apple device as well as any of your friends who have shared their location with you.
WWDC 2019
We’ll know all of this for sure later today, when Apple reveals iOS 13 alongside new versions of macOS, watchOS, and tvOS during the opening keynote at WWDC. You’ll be able to learn all about that starting at 1PM eastern, 10am Pacific.
Sources:
- Roger Fingas, AppleInsider
- Guilherme Rambo, 9to5Mac