What you need to know
- Windows 11 commercial SKUs will ship with dark mode enabled by default.
- People will be able to switch their PC to light mode if they prefer.
- Microsoft explains that the switch to dark mode is to ease strain on people's eyes.
Update July 23, 2021 at 1:25 p.m. ET: A Microsoft spokesperson provided the following statement to Windows Central: "We are aware that inaccurate information about Windows 11 shipping in dark mode on by default to all commercial SKUs was recently shared and apologize for the confusion. To clarify, Microsoft will ship Windows 11 SKUs in light mode on by default. However, OEMs can choose to ship their devices in dark mode and customers will have the choice to easily customize their experience in Settings to dark mode or light mode. As with all of our products, we will continue listening to customer feedback to ensure Windows 11 meets customers' needs, wherever they are in their computing journey."
Windows 11's dark mode will be enabled by default for all commercials SKUs of the operating system. People will be able to swtich to light mode easily, but the default setting will be to show dark mode throughout the OS. Microsoft's Melissa Grant mentioned the switch during Microsoft Inspire last week.
"Since we're spending so much more time staring at bright screens, not just for endless email, but also countless meetings plus keeping up with our personal lives, to give your eyes a rest, we're going to ship all of the Windows 11 commercial SKUs in that IT favorite, beautiful dark mode, by default," said Grant.
The comment is brief, but if you'd like to see Grant discuss it, you can jump to the 4:32 mark of Microsoft's video.
The full session focuses on hybrid work and how Windows 11 is built for collaboration.
You can already check out the operating system's dark mode by running a Windows 11 Insider preview build. Much like the dark mode of Windows 10, several elements are swapped from bright white to black or grey. The darker colors are easier on the eyes, which can help if you're staring at a screen all day.
Dark mode is quite popular, and Microsoft has rolled it out to several apps and pieces of software, including Windows 10, Windows 11, Microsoft Edge, Office, and most of its mobile apps.
