Phone applications that use black instead of white use less battery life

Now we have the proof that apps Unload less of your phone's battery when they use darker colors, like black and gray.

In a recent Android Dev Summit session (via SlashGear), Google revealed what we suspected for a long time: the colors used in apps have a direct bearing. The impact on the battery life of a smartphone and white or more bright colors are a bigger drain.

Using an original Pixel phone, Google tested in different ways the fact that the phone was draining the life of its battery. Brightness was, of course, one of the most obvious factors; everyone knows that the brighter the screen, the faster the battery will be discharged

However, the most informative news of the session concerns the use of color. As many of us who are already familiar with the technical details of the phone display know, activating the phone's night mode (if available) helps preserve battery life.

Although not as visible on LCD telephones The energy saving of phones with OLED displays (Samsung phones, Pixels, iPhone X, XS, XS Max, etc.) is significantly great.

Indeed, the OLED screens are not backlit. like LCD screens, with a uniform brightness level illuminating all the pixels. Instead, each pixel in an OLED display has an enabled and disabled state. As such, the pixel does not turn on and uses energy only if it is a color other than black. A black pixel is "off" and that is why blacks are so deep on OLEDs as LCDs because they are not even turned on.

So it's no wonder that applications switch to night / dark mode, which often use more black or dark gray to reduce the speed of discharge of your phone's battery.

I encourage you to go into night mode (if any), not only because your phone will last longer, but also because it's easier for the eyes. . Twitter with a dark theme is less blinding than a mostly white day theme, especially if you look at it in the dark or in dimly lit places (bars, restaurants, etc.).

Google, on the other hand, did not really help preserve battery life on Android with the hardware design of all of its apps, though. In its attempt to create a consistent and modern flat user interface for all of its applications and services, the Android application creators have gone too far with "negative" white space. As a result, their applications consume more energy than they need.

The takeaway for Google and Android app developers is simple: use more black and darker colors. In my opinion, it is good for the energy saving and the dark mode looks so much better.

Image: lili sams / mashable

But Android phones are not the only ones to benefit from the integration of black in apps. IOS developers should also do it. With the iPhone X, XS and XS Max using all OLED displays, you have the ability to create beautiful apps that are also useful for battery life.

As a person using dark mode as much as possible in apps like Twitter and Apollo. and using a black wallpaper on my home screen, I constantly hope that more apps embrace aesthetics. Now that the proof is made that it actually extends the battery, there is even more reason to make dark mode an option.

If Apple takes the lead and takes the lead with dark mode in its default iOS apps, it will cause other app developers to do the same. . Apple has already taken modest steps with the dark mode on macOS Mojave and it's glorious.

It's time for the company to do the same with iOS. It always seems strange to me that some applications iOS are dark (clock, watch, compbad, activity, calculator) but that others are not it. Maybe in iOS 13, Apple will finally put in dark mode all applications. Here's what iOS 13 should have.