Dark mode is Finally Coming to iOS 13

Apple is finally bringing a dark mode to iOS 13. The company made the reveal at WWDC 2019, a year after bringing the feature to macOS Mojave. Apple showed many of its favorite apps working in dark mode, including Maps, Notes, Calendar, Music, and Messages. Apple also confirmed that dark mode is coming to the iPad with iPadOS.

The company says the mode will be available across all its default apps, and can also be used by third-party app developers. Users can set iOS 13’s dark mode to turn on automatically at sunset or set a time for it. Check it out in the action below.

Today’s release means that both primary mobile operating systems will be receiving a dark mode in 2019 after Google said that it would be bringing one to Android Q later this year. Android’s dark mode is already available in the beta version of Q, and Google is working to update its first-party apps to take benefit of the new color scheme.

The  dark modes have become an amazingly popular feature in recent years. It’s partially for functional reasons, and partly just because they look really awesome. Although claims that they can reduce eye strain have a shaky scientific basis, they can bring much more substantial benefits to gadgets with OLED screens, which tend to use less battery life with darker color schemes. On Android Q, for example, devices will start using dark mode when they’re put into a battery-saving mode.