Finally, after months and months, the new “Lights Out” mode is available on Twitter for Android.
The mode was first released to iOS back in March. And it took nearly seven months for it to launch on Android.
It was delayed a few times, after Twitter developers noted that they were having some usability issues with it. But now, it is finally here, on the stable version of Twitter.
Lights out launched in the Alpha Twitter for Android app last week
Twitter actually launched this mode in the Alpha version of the app last week. And now it is available in the stable version for everyone to check out.
This is similar to how Instagram rolled out its dark mode last month. It first launched in the Alpha app, then it was available in the beta, before finally coming to the stable version. All within a couple of weeks.
Meet Twitter’s new dark mode
Twitter wasn’t missing out on dark mode. No, in fact it was one of the first to have dark mode in its app.
But Twitter was using a dark blue for its app, and not black or even a gray. This means that users with OLED displays were not really seeing much battery savings. While the darker blue does use less juice than the white background, it’s not quite as good as the black that it is now using for its Lights Out mode.
Earlier this year, I asked Twitter co-founder, Jack Dorsey why Twitter didn’t have a true dark mode – on Twitter – and he replied that they were working on it. A few weeks later it rolled out for iOS and then seven months later it came to Android. So Twitter had been working on it, even before users started asking for it, which is a nice thing.
Now that most smartphones are using an OLED display, this lights out mode is going to make it much easier use Twitter and not worry about it using up all of your battery. In fact, the Lights Out mode, should keep people on Twitter longer as it’ll use less energy. That is what Twitter wants in the end, anyways.
The update to the Twitter app that enables the new Lights Out mode should be rolling out later today. Some users are reporting already having it though. So it looks like it’s rolling out pretty quickly. That’s always good to see.
