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Twitter CEO promises a true, battery-saving dark mode is coming

Twitter CEO promises a true, battery-saving dark mode is coming

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An update that many users will be happy to have

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Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is promising users that a true dark mode is on the way — one that might actually help you save battery life and reduce eyestrain while browsing Twitter.

The conversation was sparked by a Wall Street Journal column by David Pierce, which was tweeted out by colleague Christopher Mims. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey replied to Android Headline editor Alex Maxham, who was frustrated with the app’s current dark mode, pointing out it’s more of a dark blue rather than true black. Dorsey agreed, adding that the team is already working on a fix that will make it an actual dark mode.

That true black color is important because many of today’s phones, including the latest iPhone XS, use OLED screens that are capable of completely turning off their oft-searingly bright pixels when displaying a pure black — which means less drain on your battery, and that people using their phones or computers late at night or in the dark don’t have to strain their eyes as much when reading or looking at the screen.

Third-party Twitter apps, like Tweetbot for iOS, have already embraced a true dark mode — and as 2018 proved, the dark mode is a trend that other companies are more than happy to support. Twitter first debuted its not-so-dark dark mode in 2016 and since then, numerous sites, apps, and operating systems have jumped on the bandwagon, offering their own dark modes to users. Reddit, Android Messages, and YouTube all began offering dark modes in 2018, MacOS Mojave added it to your Mac (though it’ll require more developer support), and the next version of Android — Android Q — will purportedly introduce a system-wide dark mode for your entire phone.

As more phones (and maybe laptops) start using OLED screens, the more companies have to fidget with their dark modes.

It’s unclear when a new version of Twitter’s dark mode is expected to roll out, but it’s clear the team is working on a solution.

Update January 22nd 4:31 PM ET: The story has been updated to include the original Wall Street Journal article that led to Dorsey’s promise to improve dark mode.