Dark mode could drain more battery than light mode, BBC study says

WTF?! Conventional wisdom suggests that using dark mode on apps and websites helps conserve battery life on your devices. However, new research is challenging this belief, suggesting that dark mode may actually drain energy for most users. The surprising findings come from the BBC's R&D team, who examined how real users interact with their devices in both dark and light modes. Participants were asked to sit in front of the BBC Sounds homepage and adjust the device brightness to a comfortable level. This process was repeated for both the light and dark mode versions of the page. A significant majority (80 percent) of participants increased their screen brightness much higher to improve visibility in dark mode. This created a "rebound effect," leading to much higher energy consumption compared to the supposedly more wasteful light mode. Zak Datson, a BBC R&D engineer, explained that many common sustainability tips are overly simplified and fail to consider how people actually use tech ... Read full article.