Dark Mode?
I wish I hadn't read the article on my phone, as I tend to lose the links. But, there was an article which was effectively damning the push towards dark mode (never mind, I found it). But, it made the universal blunder; it attacked on multiple fronts, but those fronts actually competed with each other in making the author's argument.
The two primary points made were; it only saves battery life if it is using true black and only on the right screens but most apps aren't using true black, and many people don't have the right screens. And it only reduces eye strain if it isn't using true blacks.
See the problem? Don't worry if you don't. I'll get there in a second.
The article linked a lot of research. And was even generally well written but, even the fundamental arguments are severely flawed.
Firstly the article linked with the studies about battery savings is here. And basically, what it is saying is that screen brightness and color have the biggest effect on battery.
Amusingly, the author of the original article misses the point. The reality is that dark mode saves EVERYONE battery life by shifting the color palettes of apps to a range of colors which in general have a lessened impact on a battery life. You will get a slight ADDITIONAL advantage if using an OLED screen and there is a LOT of true black. But, everyone will get some benefit from using a generally darker palette. And an even better benefit from simply turning down the screen brightness.
And this comes from the simple fact that white is the most battery hogging color there is. It requires all 3 LEDs in an RGB pixel array to be on and at full intensity. Black does not. The reason battery intensity matters the most though, is that it is the back light which is the real problem child. In non-OLED devices this is on, even when the screen is totally black. But, that doesn't mean those other colored LEDs work for free or even effectively for free.
The next argument is eye strain. They've taken a few articles which all seem to reference the same article (seems to be this one) which discusses the outcomes of a study which was biased to begin with (the author of that article has admittedly bad astigmatism which is important for this debate), and then the original article I read conflates it even further.
The problem is that I could find nothing which stated that the study concluded that white on black is WORSE for eye strain. Only that it CAN be worse for those with severe astigmatism. And not for any reason other than the bright white force them to squint. In short, even there, it isn't INHERENTLY better. It is really more of a side effect.
The author of this intermediary study then interjects that about 50% of people have astigmatism. However, this intermediary article states that the research says that when the astigmatism was "bad enough to impair vision" it made things worse. So, unfortunately, this isn't the same as saying that 50% of people will experience increased eye strain. Nor is it the same as saying that the other 50% won't experience reduced eye strain. But, alas, I didn't find or read the original study.
Dark mode CAN improve your battery life. It is true it may also increase eye strain. But none of that stops you from reverting back to "light mode".
Why wouldn't you object to options then? The article seems abundantly pointless.
The two primary points made were; it only saves battery life if it is using true black and only on the right screens but most apps aren't using true black, and many people don't have the right screens. And it only reduces eye strain if it isn't using true blacks.
See the problem? Don't worry if you don't. I'll get there in a second.
The article linked a lot of research. And was even generally well written but, even the fundamental arguments are severely flawed.
Firstly the article linked with the studies about battery savings is here. And basically, what it is saying is that screen brightness and color have the biggest effect on battery.
Amusingly, the author of the original article misses the point. The reality is that dark mode saves EVERYONE battery life by shifting the color palettes of apps to a range of colors which in general have a lessened impact on a battery life. You will get a slight ADDITIONAL advantage if using an OLED screen and there is a LOT of true black. But, everyone will get some benefit from using a generally darker palette. And an even better benefit from simply turning down the screen brightness.
And this comes from the simple fact that white is the most battery hogging color there is. It requires all 3 LEDs in an RGB pixel array to be on and at full intensity. Black does not. The reason battery intensity matters the most though, is that it is the back light which is the real problem child. In non-OLED devices this is on, even when the screen is totally black. But, that doesn't mean those other colored LEDs work for free or even effectively for free.
The next argument is eye strain. They've taken a few articles which all seem to reference the same article (seems to be this one) which discusses the outcomes of a study which was biased to begin with (the author of that article has admittedly bad astigmatism which is important for this debate), and then the original article I read conflates it even further.
The problem is that I could find nothing which stated that the study concluded that white on black is WORSE for eye strain. Only that it CAN be worse for those with severe astigmatism. And not for any reason other than the bright white force them to squint. In short, even there, it isn't INHERENTLY better. It is really more of a side effect.
The author of this intermediary study then interjects that about 50% of people have astigmatism. However, this intermediary article states that the research says that when the astigmatism was "bad enough to impair vision" it made things worse. So, unfortunately, this isn't the same as saying that 50% of people will experience increased eye strain. Nor is it the same as saying that the other 50% won't experience reduced eye strain. But, alas, I didn't find or read the original study.
Dark mode CAN improve your battery life. It is true it may also increase eye strain. But none of that stops you from reverting back to "light mode".
Why wouldn't you object to options then? The article seems abundantly pointless.
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