WhatsApp's new Night mode has been arrived, but it still seeing the sunshine
Opinion: it is a good start, but I'm still seeing the sunshine
After many months of speculation and hints, WhatsApp dark mode has finally arrived for beta testing on Android, and i have been using it full-time since it arrived. It's rather nice, and it's certainly easier on the eyes in the dark than bright green and white, but there's only one problem: it's still not dark enough.
First, there's the app's main background. instead of black, it is a dark greenish gray. That's all find and tasteful, but on an AMOLED screen you actually want the background to be fully black so those pixels are transitioned and not draining your battery.
Yes, a very black background would mean missing out on the fun WhatsApp wallpaper (peer closely – are you able to see it?) but that's alittle price to pay. albeit you enter the app's wallpaper settings and choose 'solid color', the darkest swatch isn't actually black. If you would like a very black background, you will have to make a black image and set that as your wallpaper. That's quite lot of hassle.
Next, there's the text, which is usually stark white and thus a touch hard on the eyes. A more subtle shade would be easier to seem at, and wouldn't have me dialling down the entire screen's brightness to lower the contrast.
That's something I'd rather avoid because the colour of the message bubbles is extremely almost like the background. Dial down the general brightness and you cannot see them in the least . The speech bubbles in light mode are much clearer to ascertain , making it that tiny bit easier to follow the conversation. A black background would knock the contrast up a notch with none further changes.
Not-so mellow yellow
Then there are the emoji. Open the menu and squint as they slide into view altogether their bright yellow glory. it would be less dazzling if they'd been reworked during a different hue for dark mode – a pleasing shade of blue, perhaps. Yes, it might are tons of labor , but dark mode has already been goodbye coming, what's a touch longer?
All that grumbling aside though, WhatsApp dark mode remains in beta testing, so there is a chance it could change substantially before it starts rolling out properly.
Also, let's not forget that the APK files include menu options that suggest it'd eventually be possible to settle on between two different dark modes, possibly including one specifically made for AMOLED displays. Here's hoping it'd tone down a number of the gaudier colors, too.
And albeit it doesn't, there's still hope for Facebook's mobile dark mode, when it eventually makes an appearance. Fingers crossed.
zareen
