Darkmode: What dark mode means for eyes and battery

More and more apps and operating systems offer a so-called dark mode, in which the background is dark and the text is bright. Users expect this to protect the battery and the health of their eyes.

Effects of dark mode on eye health

When using darkmode, many users rely on doing something good for their health and putting less strain on their eyes. But what's really wrong with the claim that dark mode is better for our visual organs?

• The dark mode makes the eyes tired less quickly, but this only applies if the environment in which you are located is also dark. In a bright environment, dark mode can even be counterproductive.
• A dark screen can then be more difficult to read, which is more stressful for our eyes and can lead to faster eye fatigue.
• Concentrated gazing at a screen, whether it's in light or dark mode, also causes us to blink less, which causes the eyes to dry and burn.
• The harmfulness of blue light to our eyes is just as little scientifically confirmed as the protection of the eyes by a dark design.
• However, bright screens emit a high proportion of blue light. This ensures that the hormone melatonin is released, which disrupts our sleep. So dark designs can improve our sleep.
• In general, it should be noted that the light from the devices does not damage the eyes, but the short distance to them promotes myopia.
• So if you really want to take care of your eyes, you should always take short breaks from the screen and look as far away as possible, this will prevent your eyes from drying out and prevent nearsightedness.

Protection of the battery by the dark mode

In addition to relieving the strain on the eyes, the dark mode should also be good for the device battery, since less power is used. However, this is only partially true, because it is important to distinguish between LCD and OLED screens.

• LCD screens: Each pixel is illuminated regardless of the color, which is why the use of the dark mode makes no noticeable difference in power consumption.
• OLED screens: They are mainly found in higher-priced devices, such as the iPhone X. They can benefit from dark mode, since only the pixels that are used are illuminated and those in dark areas are simply switched off, which means that less power is used.
• Conclusion: Not everyone can save electricity with a dark mode on their device, if you value the fact that the battery lasts long, you have to spend more money beforehand and invest in a product with an OLED screen.

Apps and devices for which a dark mode is available

The trend is towards dark fashion: Instagram has recently jumped on this bandwagon and there are more and more, also for WhatsApp and Facebook is currently working on dark fashion.

• Android devices (from Android 9 or 10)
• iPhones and iPads (from iOS 13)
• Windows PCs (from Windows 10)
• Macs (from MacOS Mojave)
• Apps like Threema, Telegram, Instagram, Twitter, Outlook and YouTube

Video tip: Chrome: Activate dark mode