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What's the deal with dark modes? With glossy laptop screens they're 100% unreadable in good natural light conditions; even with a matte screen, they're pretty b

What's the deal with dark modes? With glossy laptop screens they're 100% unreadable in good natural light conditions; even with a matte screen, they're pretty bad.

derefr 7y ago
> good natural light conditions Dark modes are for... the dark.
eddieh 7y ago
Not to mention, in dark mode window shadows and other UI hints are not discernible. Dark mode is a usability nightmare and after the initial intrigue of something new was gone, I set my computer back to light mode.
wishinghand 7y ago
I just prefer less light hitting my eyeballs. The only time I use light modes are when I'm giving a presentation and want my screen to be more legible under super bright fluorescents.
grumblestumble 7y ago
Laptop displays are unfortunately limited to the "good enough" solution of additive light. We're stuck with it because it works well enough, so it's not important to sink tons of money and research in bringing e-ink style displays up to par. As a result, "light mode" means bombarding your eyes with... light. This is not good. Dark pixels are pixels that emit less light. This is much better for your eyes.
camhenlin 7y ago
I'm not sure if it's real or not, but I feel like dark mode apps are easier on my eyes. I sit in front of a computer in my office most of the day, and I don't need a bunch of white light shining in my face all day. I prefer to have the majority of the screen be dark colors and text be light colored.
WorldMaker 7y ago
> good natural light conditions So many of us are stuck in situations of bad fluorescent light or worse. The biggest benefits of dark modes are on OLED screens, such as most "flagship" handheld computers these days. On a modern OLED, a black pixel may be entirely unlit, which entirely reduces the amount of light being fired at your retinas during your screen hours. It's also a small power savings when multiplied by lots of unlit pixels across a day. But at the end of the day, it's also just aesthetic choice. Some people like the Batman approach of paint everything as black and dark as possible. It's okay for people to have a variety of tastes, and nice that "Dark Mode" frenzy has increased options across every platform (whether or not you think you want or need such options).
mathw 7y ago
Other than some accessibility concerns for some people, it's a purely aesthetic preference. I find my eyes are quite comfortable in light mode, and it's easier to read... but I do turn my screen brightness down quite a lot. My work monitors are on 40%. Most of my colleagues' screens are a lot brighter, which might explain why they find light mode a little bit uncomfortable sometimes.

What's the deal with dark modes? With glossy laptop screens they're 100% unreadable in good natural light conditions; even with a matte screen, they're pretty bad.

derefr 7y ago

> good natural light conditions Dark modes are for... the dark.

eddieh 7y ago

Not to mention, in dark mode window shadows and other UI hints are not discernible. Dark mode is a usability nightmare and after the initial intrigue of something new was gone, I set my computer back to light mode.

wishinghand 7y ago

I just prefer less light hitting my eyeballs. The only time I use light modes are when I'm giving a presentation and want my screen to be more legible under super bright fluorescents.

grumblestumble 7y ago

Laptop displays are unfortunately limited to the "good enough" solution of additive light. We're stuck with it because it works well enough, so it's not important to sink tons of money and research in bringing e-ink style displays up to par. As a result, "light mode" means bombarding your eyes with... light. This is not good. Dark pixels are pixels that emit less light. This is much better for your eyes.

camhenlin 7y ago

I'm not sure if it's real or not, but I feel like dark mode apps are easier on my eyes. I sit in front of a computer in my office most of the day, and I don't need a bunch of white light shining in my face all day. I prefer to have the majority of the screen be dark colors and text be light colored.

WorldMaker 7y ago

> good natural light conditions So many of us are stuck in situations of bad fluorescent light or worse. The biggest benefits of dark modes are on OLED screens, such as most "flagship" handheld computers these days. On a modern OLED, a black pixel may be entirely unlit, which entirely reduces the amount of light being fired at your retinas during your screen hours. It's also a small power savings when multiplied by lots of unlit pixels across a day. But at the end of the day, it's also just aesthetic choice. Some people like the Batman approach of paint everything as black and dark as possible. It's okay for people to have a variety of tastes, and nice that "Dark Mode" frenzy has increased options across every platform (whether or not you think you want or need such options).

mathw 7y ago

Other than some accessibility concerns for some people, it's a purely aesthetic preference. I find my eyes are quite comfortable in light mode, and it's easier to read... but I do turn my screen brightness down quite a lot. My work monitors are on 40%. Most of my colleagues' screens are a lot brighter, which might explain why they find light mode a little bit uncomfortable sometimes.