Interestingly, the claim that dark mode relieves eye strain, improves focus and productivity, is still inconclusive. They found the dark interface more conducive to making decisions faster, and just as accurately. After asking study participants to compare charts in both light and dark themes, they were then asked which would be “worth the least or most if they had to pay for each type.” The Salesforce team found that respondents would pay more for the dark theme compared to a light one. According to Apple’s human interface guidelines, dark mode allows the “content to stand out while the surrounding UI recedes into the background.” For this same reason, dark mode works well when the user needs to quickly scan stats and focus on key data points, such as when referencing charts or graphs.Ī Salesforce study suggested that there may be some functional benefits when it comes to reading charts and graphics. The decision to go with dark mode was partially based on the developing trend, but also the result of considerable thought on how dark mode will resonate with our users, both consciously and at an unconscious level.Īt the conscious level, the dark mode has its functional value, wherein some user contexts dark mode can be particularly useful. Like all the major industry influencers mentioned above, at Deep Instinct we also weighed up the value of dark versus light mode for our products. Īpple’s Human Interface Design guidelines for iOS Dark Mode. Here are some examples of recent version releases by Apple and Google products:Īpple’s latest products all with a dark mode interface.ĭark mode for business and technology platforms.Įxample of the Material Design guide for dark themes. Google and Apple have updated all their design practice guidelines (Google’s Material Design and Apple’s Human Interface Design) to work with dark mode (and most of their apps too), including accessibility guidelines and other design tools.

(This design announcement received more applause at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference than anything else for their new iOS.) Last year Apple introduced the Mojave OS as well as key features of iOS 13. If that’s not enough, Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, Google maps, Outlook, Facebook’s Messenger and Gmail all have dark themes. The dark side has Google Chrome, Safari, Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft’s Edge browser, the temptation is clearly strong.

Firefox dark theme for reading