macOS Mojave Public Beta: Everything to Know About Apple's New Dark Mode

Your Mac can finally join the dark side. On Thursday Apple released the public beta of macOS Mojave, finally giving users across the internet broad access to the much anticipated Dark Mode they’ve been clamoring for.

It’s a small change that could potentially have big impact: The blue light that’s emitted from bright screens has been linked to sleeplessness.

You can take this feature for a test spin by registering with Apple’s beta program and enrolling your computer, though you’ll want to save a backup of your previous operating system to make sure you don’t lose anything valuable if bugs arise.

Devices dating back to the 2012 Mac Mini should be able to run the new software update, meaning you don’t need the latest hardware to try out the sleek, dark aesthetic. Here’s everything we know about the long-awaited arrival of Dark Mode and how to get it to run.

Activating macOS Mojave Dark Mode

If you’re setting up a brand new Mac, you’ll be prompted to start with Light Mode or Dark Mode in the on-boarding. This is by no means permanent, you can easily toggle between the two based on how you’re feeling by opening up System Preferences.

Clicking on the General menu will bring up the hub where you can control the look of your desktop. At the very top, you’ll find two buttons to alternate between the two themes. This will only change the color of the navigation bar at the top of the screen and windows, your wallpaper will remain untouched.

macOS Mojave Dark Mode: What Works and What Doesn’t

Once enabled, pretty much every application that used to be white will turn a shade of metallic gray. This includes Mail, iMessage, Calendar, Safari, Maps, Reminders, and much more. Most integrated applications will look just fine, but there are a few exceptions.

Apple’s iWork suite, which includes Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, still appear in the standard light gray and white theme of High Sierra. The same is true for some third-party apps like BootCamp, which allows you to install Microsoft Windows.

Some of the coloring hiccups will likely be worked out through the process of the beta release. In the meanwhile, it’s still worth giving the gentler color scheme a try. Your eyes will thank you when you’re browsing the internet late into the night.