WeChat's latest beta version released: dark mode and message quotes are here

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It’s coming, it’s coming, WeChat is coming with dark mode.

The bad news is that only Android users can use this feature for now, and iOS users need to wait patiently.

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The beta version of WeChat 7.0.10 supports dark mode. After installation, if the system has dark mode turned on, WeChat will automatically adapt to it. However, not all pages support dark mode, such as the game center and search. Mini programs need to be adapted by developers, but the official development documents have not been updated. No mini programs have been adapted to dark mode yet, and the mini program cards shared in the chat window are still blinding.

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This also reduces the practicality of WeChat's dark mode to a certain extent. After all, repeatedly switching between the dark and light interfaces still affects the user experience. However, since WeChat has made its position clear, it is only a matter of time before the mini-programs are adapted.

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Since it is still an internal beta version, the adapted pages are still imperfect, especially the buttons in the upper right corner have very poor visibility in dark mode, such as the "+" on the main interface, the chat window and the "..." on the WeChat public account, which can basically only be pressed blindly based on memory.

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Judging from the completion of this version, iOS users may have to wait for a while. However, there is no need to be obsessed with this feature, because the dark mode may not be as useful as you think.

Dark mode is in high demand, but it may not save your eyes

The popularity of dark mode is related to the fact that it is considered to be more friendly to the eyes, especially in dim light. The dark interface is less irritating to the eyes than the bright interface. The promotion on Apple's official website also states that it "makes the eyes comfortable without disturbing the people around you."

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Having said that, whether dark mode can protect the eyes is still very controversial in academia, at least it has not been scientifically proven.

"There is no literature data showing that dark mode can affect eye health," Euna Koo, an ophthalmologist at the Stanford Eye Institute, told CNN. However, this misunderstanding of dark mode may lead people to use their mobile phones more recklessly. Even if dark mode can really protect the eyes, the benefits may be offset by the visual fatigue and vision loss caused by staring at the screen for a long time.

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▲. Image from: retrocomputing.net

The popularity of dark mode nowadays may seem a bit magical to computer developers in the early years. Due to technical and cost limitations, monochrome displays only used one color of fluorescent powder, and black background with white text (or green text) became the norm for computers decades ago. However, this design is not conducive to long-term reading and writing. Later, with the development of technology, color displays began to become popular, and the more readable white background with black text became the mainstream. The visibility of text and buttons in dark mode is poor, which is also the problem we mentioned earlier.

According to Vice, white text on a black background is particularly unfriendly to people with astigmatism because the dark background causes the iris to open wider to receive more light, causing the lens to deform more, which in turn makes the eyes more tired.

Of course, for some special groups, such as people with photophobia or visual impairment, dark mode may be easier to read. Dark backgrounds have also always been loved by programs because they can better focus attention.

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▲ Image from: SlashGear

Although it is hard to say whether dark mode can protect the eyes, it has a real benefit - saving power. In Google's test, when a mobile phone equipped with an AMOLED (also an OLED) screen is turned on in dark mode, it can save about 63% of power compared to normal mode. Technology media PhoneBuff also came to a similar conclusion after testing the iPhone XS with a robotic arm.

Simply put, OLED consumes almost no power when displaying black, so the battery life of iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone 11 Pro and other Android phones that use OLED has been greatly improved in dark mode. However, the power saving effect of iPhone XR and iPhone 11 that use LCD is not so obvious.

In short, dark mode has its value, but if you expect it to protect your eyes, it would be better to lower the screen brightness and use your phone less.

Other new features of the beta version of WeChat

Message reference

Another highly requested feature finally appears in this version: message quotes.

It is hard to imagine that the effect of simply adding a dividing line has become a function exclusive to the PC for many years. Therefore, replying to a topic in a mobile group chat has become a very painful thing. This time, WeChat has finally moved the quote to the mobile terminal. Just long press the chat message, select "Quote" in the pop-up menu, and then enter your own reply. It supports content in the form of mini-programs, pictures, videos, etc., but it cannot be sent with only quoted content.

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However, the effect of quoting is not very obvious. People who are not familiar with this function may not understand the meaning of quoting at first glance. In addition, no matter what form of information is, it is uniformly displayed in text format when quoted. Pictures, applets, etc. can only be fully displayed when clicked. Although it is conducive to the neatness of the chat interface, it weakens the practicality of quoting. Perhaps using thumbnails instead will have a better effect.

The citations in the beta version of WeChat are all displayed in text format on the computer side, and mini-programs and pictures cannot be viewed. Conversely, the citations on the computer side are displayed in the beta version of WeChat using the dividing line format of the computer side.

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▲ The display effect of the mobile phone reference on the PC

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▲ The display effect of the computer-side reference on the mobile phone

The "Scan" viewfinder is larger and new objects are recognized

The scan viewfinder is no longer the small square in the center of the screen, but a full-screen interface like the camera.

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The newly added object recognition function is also worth paying attention to. The recognition rate is not bad, and it seems to be connected with the good things circle, and it may be connected with the e-commerce channel in the future. Note that when I say the recognition rate is good, I mean that it can correctly identify the type of object, such as cups, smart watches, smart phones, etc., but it is easy to overturn when it comes to specific brands. It is understandable that there is an "iPhone fingerprint recognition phone", but it is unforgivable that the smart watch directly ignores the Apple Watch and finds a copycat watch.

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However, after using Taobao’s photo recognition test, I decided to forgive WeChat, because the same model Taobao found for my Apple Watch looked like this:

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▲To be honest, the recognition rate of this function on Taobao is usually quite good.

"Take a look" adds new hot topics

Some users will see a "Hot Topics" entrance in the upper right corner of the "Take a Look" interface, and can also see which friends have participated in the topic. However, this function seems to be a grayscale test, and my test version of WeChat "Take a Look" is still no different from the original one.

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▲ Image from: Reader Kang Shifu

Overall, for WeChat, which used to only have minor updates, solving the two major pain points of dark mode and message quotes at once is already a big surprise. After the above functions are improved, I believe the official version will still be worth looking forward to.