When a phone was set to max brightness and displayed a Google app set to dark mode, it would use 42% less power than in light mode.
So while dark mode does reduce energy consumption, BBC researchers found that 80% of smartphone users crank up the brightness to compensate for the darker display.
Dark mode does lower the amount of blue light screens create, a type of harsh light that boosts attention but slows the production of melatonin at night.
Rather than rely on dark mode to keep battery percentages high, researchers recommend keeping the brightness as low as possible.
‘But some of the most common sustainability recommendations are overly simplistic, to the point that many simply don’t work in the way they’re intended – or in the case of dark mode, actually end up using more energy.
