A hidden accessibility feature on your iPhone called Smart Invert lets you enjoy a Dark Mode-like experience on your handset on demand, but you still need to invoke it manually if you wish to use it.
With that in mind, iOS developer Cole Cabral has just released a new jailbreak tweak in Cydia called AutoInvert that automatically facilitates your handset’s Smart Invert feature based on your current display brightness level.
I’ve tested and used numerous jailbreak tweaks over the years, but one of my all-time favorites has been Eclipse by iOS developer Guillermo Morán (fr0st). For those who don’t already know, Eclipse provides a system-wide dark mode feature for iPhones and iPads.
Eclipse consistently receives updates with each jailbreak season, and as it would seem, iOS 11 won’t be any different. Morán took to his Twitter account this week to tease images of the next iteration of Eclipse, which he fittingly calls EclipseX.
Looking at the feedback we've been getting, it seems a lot of you will be happy to learn that the iDB app has been updated and now supports the larger screen of the iPhone X. Available in the App Store as version 1.4.2, this new release also brings support for Smart Invert Colors.
iOS 11's Smart Invert, which reverts the colors of the display while attempting to leave the colors of images and media intact, has been gaining some much-needed support from popular apps.
The Smart Invert feature is the closest thing yet to a true system-wide Dark Mode for your iPhone, iPad and iPod. With this new accessibility feature on iOS 11 and later, the operating system inverts colors of the user interface while keeping the original format and colors for content like your images in the Photos app, graphics in the App Store app and so forth.
Smart Invert is smart enough not to invert the colors of your wallpaper. However, colors of the Dock, iOS's status bar and several other parts of the interface will get reverted in this mode.
iOS will do its best to detect content that shouldn't be color-inverted, but don't expect miracles.
As an example, Smart Invert will revert webpage colors in Safari, including any images and text, as well as cover artwork in the Music app, which doesn't look good at all.
On the other hand, in Settings, Messages and several other stock apps this mode yields much better results. And for apps like Clock and Activity, the Smart Invert feature preserves their already dark interface without changing anything.
Before we get to it, it's worth repeating that Smart Invert requires iOS 11 or later.
On older iOS editions, only the classic color-inversion mode is available for visually impaired users that simply reverts the colors of everything on the display.
Smart Invert: hands-on video walkthroughCheck out Andrew's how-to video covering Smart Invert mode.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYnN4GxUCgQ
Subscribe to iDownloadBlog on YouTube.
Continue reading for the step-by-step instructions on using Smart Invert.
How to enable Smart Invert on iPhone and iPad1) Launch the Settings app on your iOS device.
2) Tap General.
3) Tap Accessibility.
4) Tap Display Accommodations underneath the Vision heading.
5) Tap Invert Colors.
6) Slide the Smart Invert switch to the ON position to enable the feature.
“Smart Invert Colors reverses the colors of the display, except for images, media and some apps that use dark color styles,” reads the feature's description.
NOTE: Enabling Smart Invert will turn Night Shift off.
To disable Smart Invert, slide the aforesaid switch to the OFF position.
The old Invert Colors option is still present, now renamed into “Classic Invert”. Name change aside, this mode still reverses the colors of everything shown on the display, like before, including images and other media.
As I mentioned before, Smart Invert isn't perfect.
That said, best thing you experiment with Smart Invert to see for yourself how it works in your favorite apps. To access Smart Invert faster, set it as a triple-click Home button action in Settings → General → Accessibility → Accessibility Shortcut.
Taking screenshots while Smart Invert is on will produce normal screenshots.
This is by design—other Display Accommodations in Accessibility settings, as well as Night Shift, don't apply on-the-fly image processing to the screenshots you take either.
Let us know your thoughts on Smart Invert by posting a comment below!
Need help? Ask iDB!If you like this how-to, pass it along to your support folks and leave a comment below.
Got stuck? Not sure how to do certain things on your Apple device? Let us know via help@iDownloadBlog.com and a future tutorial might provide a solution.
Submit your how-to suggestions via tips@iDownloadBlog.com.
iOS 11 has not enabled a system-wide Dark Mode as some have hoped it would, but it makes up for it by bringing out a new accessibility feature for inverting colors of the iOS user interface without reversing the colors of your content, like images, media and more.
To enable this feature, go to Settings → General → Accessibility → Display Accommodations → Invert Colors, then slide the new Smart Invert switch to the ON position.
TUTORIAL: How to replicate Dark Mode on iPhone and iPad with Smart Invert
Profile pictures in Messages, your media in Photos, icons in the Settings app and more shall remain unchanged with this smart color reversal feature turned on, so that they don’t conflict with a darker appearance.
“Smart Invert Colors reverses the colors of the display, except for images, media and some apps that use dark color styles,” reads the feature's description.
This is an accessibility feature for visually impaired users, not a true Dark Mode, so don't expect any miracles. In Safari, for example, the reading experience leaves a lot to be desired because Smart Invert simply inverts the whole webpage, including images and text. The same goes for some third-party apps, like TweetBot.
The old Invert Colors option that simply reverses the colors of everything on the display—your images and other media included—is still present in accessibility settings, but it's now rechristened as Classic Invert. Entering either mode will disable Night Shift.
iOS 11 is compatible with all 64-bit iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices. The software update will release as a free download to all customers this fall.
I suggest trying Smart Invert on your device. Enable it in Settings, then launch your favorite apps to preview what a system-wide Dark Mode on iOS 11 could look like.
Let us know what you think about this feature down in the comment section.