Windows 10's Upcoming Dark Mode Is Perfect for Night Owls

Windows 10 update will make nighttime PC use easier on the eyes

By Gabe Carey April 4, 2016

windows 10 dark mode twitter theme — Image used with permission by copyright holder

With copious amounts of white coating splashed across the screen in Windows 10, any added dark tone is a welcome change for the otherwise gaudy operating system. Efforts have been made to bring a dark theme by making unsolicited changes to the system registry, but no official solution has been issued by Microsoft — up until now, that is.

As reported by the website of noted tech expert Paul Thurott, a proper dark theme, a proper dark theme will be making its way to Windows 10 accompanying the first Redstone update slated to arrive this summer. In fact, with builds of the OS Microsoft employees are toying with internally right now, there’s a “dark theme” option in the Settings menu, presumably under Personalization.

Absent anything dyed by your Personalization color choice, the entirety of the UI appears darker with light text rather than what’s usually the other way around.

In previous builds of the OS, the dark theme could be enabled by pressing Ctrl+T in the Windows Store or by changing value data of “AppsUseLightTheme” in the registry from 1 to 0.

Notably, this feature was overlooked at Build 2016, though a plethora of other announcements were made including a Microsoft-helmed stylus called Ink for Windows-based tablets, in addition to Windows Hello support for third-party applications.

The feature could be helpful for late night study or work sessions where white backgrounds just don’t cut it. On the other hand, something like Flux that’s designed for this purpose might be a better alternative, considering Windows 10 doesn’t come with anything like the iPhone and iPad’s Night Shift pre-installed.

There’s no word on when the dark theme option will make its way to Insider Preview members, but per the usual snark from Gabe Aul on Twitter, a build is definitely coming “soon.” Just how soon is anyone’s guess.

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