How to enable Dark Mode on iPhone and iPad

A dark user interface can reduce strain on your eyes during the night or in low-light conditions and can even help conserve battery on OLED iPhones such as iPhone 14.

In this tutorial, we will tell you all about using Dark Mode on your iPhone and iPad.

Two iPhone mockups, with one showing an app in Light Mode and the other mockup showing the same app in Dark Mode. There is also the small official Apple Dark Mode icon in the center of the image.

Enable Dark Mode

  1. Open the Settings app and tap Display & Brightness.
  2. Under Appearance, pick Dark to activate Dark Mode on your iPhone or iPad.
Two iPhone screenshots showing how to enable Dark Mode from Settings

Other ways to quickly enable or disable Dark Mode on iPhone

  • Invoke Siri and ask it to Turn on Dark Mode or Turn off Dark Mode.
  • Open your iPhone Control Center and tap & hold the vertical brightness slider. Next, tap the Dark Mode button. (See the left image below)
  • Go to Settings > Control Center and tap the green plus button for Dark Mode. Now, open Control Center, and you will see a new Dark Mode toggle. Use it to enable or disable Dark Mode on your iPhone instantly. (See the right image below)
Two screenshots showing how to turn on and off Dark Mode quickly from the iPhone Control Center

FAQs

How to set your iPhone to enable Dark Mode automatically?

You can have your iPhone enable and disable Dark Mode automatically based on sunset and sunrise or at the desired time. To do that, go to the Settings app > Display & Brightness and enable Automatic under the Appearance heading. Next, tap Options and choose Sunset to Sunrise or Custom Schedule and set the time in AM or PM.

How to enable and disable Dark Mode automatically on iPhone

What happens after I enable Dark Mode on my iPhone?

Dark Mode activates a system-wide dark appearance on your iPhone. It uses a darker color palette for your settings, views, menus, controls, backgrounds, and almost everything else, along with a carefully selected palette of foreground colors.

By making the foreground content stand out against the darker backgrounds, iPhone Dark Mode improves focus by permitting any emphasized content areas of an app’s user interface to stand out while the surrounding interface recedes into the background.

Does Dark Mode work with third-party apps?

Apple provides an API for third-party developers to implement Dark Mode in their apps, and many already do. Therefore, activating Dark Mode on your iPhone should also enable a dark appearance in most of your third-party apps like WhatsApp, Instagram, etc.

Some applications go even further and give you the option to pick a dark or light appearance in their in-app settings or simply let you set the app to mimic your iPhone’s Light or Dark Mode.

How to enable Dark Mode for Facebook on iPhone?

Open the Facebook app and tap the Menu button > Settings & privacy > Settings > Dark mode. From here, you can choose On or pick System, which will automatically enable or disable Dark Mode on Facebook based on your iPhone’s Dark Mode setting.

Do all websites in Safari support Dark Mode?

All websites do not support Dark Mode. It’s really up to the website administrator to implement Dark Mode on their site. Some websites use plugins or code that automatically mimics your iPhone’s Dark Mode or Light Mode and changes the site background as appropriate. Many other websites, including iDB, give you a toggle to enable Dark Mode whenever you want.

Dark Mode on a website in Safari on iPhone

How Dark Mode saves battery on iPhone?

Dark Mode saves battery on iPhones with an OLED screen. This is because when the OLED display has to show black colors, the pixels that make up the black portion on the screen don’t have to be powered on, which saves battery. The same isn’t true for LCD displays, whose screen lights are turned on and consume battery even when showing the black color.

Here’s a full list of iPhones with OLED displays:

  • iPhone X
  • iPhone XS, XS Max
  • iPhone 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max
  • iPhone 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, 12 Pro Max
  • iPhone 13, 13 mini, 13 Pro, 13 Pro Max
  • iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro, 14 Pro Max

And these are the iPhones with an LCD display:

  • iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and all earlier models
  • iPhone SE 2nd and 3rd generations
  • iPhone XR
  • iPhone 11

Read: 45+ ways to save battery on iPhone


Is iPhone Dark Mode and Night mode the same?

Since Dark Mode darkens the screen and makes most of the elements black, some people may call it Night mode. However, Night mode is not the same as Dark Mode. Night mode is a smart feature inside the iPhone Camera that automatically kicks in when you’re taking pictures in a low-light environment.

Two low-light environment images places side by side, with one taken using Night mode on iPhone 11 Pro and the other taken in standard mode on iPhone X
Left image: Taken using Night mode. Right image: Taken without Night mode in low-light conditions. For more, see: First real-world photo shot with iPhone 11’s ‘Night mode’ showcases clarity.

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