TURNING on your iPhone’s Dark Mode could improve its battery life by as much as 30%. That’s according to a surprising battery test by a popular YouTuber. Apple added Dark Mode to iPhones with the recent iOS 13 update, to make viewing your screen in the dark easier. The feature re-skins your phone’s colour palette […]
TURNING on your iPhone’s Dark Mode could improve its battery life by as much as 30%.
That’s according to a surprising battery test by a popular YouTuber.
Apple added Dark Mode to iPhones with the recent iOS 13 update, to make viewing your screen in the dark easier.
The feature re-skins your phone’s colour palette to black and dark grey.
And gadget vlogger PhoneBuff made the shocking discovery that it can significantly improve battery life too.
He used robot arms to test an iPhone XS using various features while Light Mode and Dark Mode were separately activated.
Activities included using Google Maps and Messages, and watching a YouTube video.
After just two hours, the Dark Mode iPhone was on 88% – while the Light Mode iPhone had dropped to 83%.
At four hours, Dark Mode was on 72% while Light Mode had just 57%.
And at the very end, the Light Mode iPhone died at 7 hours 33 minutes, while the Dark Mode iPhone still had 30% charge left.
Of course your own mileage may vary depending on many factors.
Battery life will change based on your screen brightness, iPhone model, apps used, the state of your phone’s battery and much more.
Just because Dark Mode offered huge improvements in this instance doesn’t guarantee you’ll see similar results.
Importantly, Dark Mode is particularly effective on devices with OLED screens – like the iPhone X, iPhone XS and iPhone 11 Pro.
That’s because OLED screens have pixels that light up on their own, rather than relying on a backlight.
So when true black needs to be shown on screen, a pixel can be switched off – saving energy.
With non-OLED displays, the backlight will still need to be on for the whole screen, even when showing black colours.
It’s likely that non-OLED handsets like the iPhone 8 would see far less pronounced battery life differences.
Apple has been making steady gains with battery life on recent phone models, too.
For instance, the iPhone 11 Pro offers four hours of extra charge versus the iPhone XS.
And the iPhone 11 Pro Max boasts an additional five hours of charge compared to the iPhone XS Max.
First, make sure you’re using iOS 13 or later.
To check, go to Settings > General > Software Update.
If you’re not on iOS 13, you can update right there and then.
Once that’s done, go into Settings > Display & Brightness.
At the top under Appearance is the option to choose Dark Mode.
You can select this to have Dark Mode all the time. Alternatively, you can choose Automatic so Dark Mode only switches on at night.
In other news, Apple is reportedly planning to launch new AirPods Pro earbuds.
Another recent rumour suggests Apple is working on a £399 iPhone that would be its cheapest in years.
Apple is also preparing to launch a Netflix-slaying £4.99-a-month streaming service in November.
You’ll get a free year of Apple TV+ with hardware purchases, including the new iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro.
What’s your favourite little-known iPhone feature? Let us know in the comments!
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