I use RadioMail on an iPad. It’s my only iOS device. I keep the iPad in night mode. The problem with RadioMail in night mode is that it uses blue on black, or even blue text on a blue background as button labels! Blue almost totally disappears into any dark or black background, especially when the iPad dims its screen. There’s almost zero chance of seeing text that’s one shade of blue, against another shade of blue that’s the background!
Against a dark background, in dim light, green is most visible.
Can the color scheme be changed so that buttons are more visible? I’d be happy just to have all the button text a bold green (not fluorescent green!) against a dark background… but having the color scheme user configurable would be even better!
RadioMail relies on the standard color scheme from iOS. The blue text for buttons is known as the "tintColor". If you look at the standard Mail app, you'll notice it's the same color. Unfortunatly, unlike macOS, iOS does not offer a way for the user to configure the tintColor.
One possible solution to alter the UI is to use the accessibility settings. You can customize behavior on a per application basis. Go to Settings -> Accessibility -> Per-App Settings. You can then add RadioMail and modify some of the attributes. While you won't be able to select a different color, you can bold the text in buttons and have them underlined for extra contrast. Play around and you might find a setup that works out better for you.
Unfortunatly, unlike macOS, iOS does not offer a way for the user to configure the tintColor.
Well doesn't that suck?! LOL
Usually I like the iOS user interface, but whoever came up with the idea of putting blue text on a blue background, on a black desktop deserves to be fired... along with whoever approved that decision! I was a police officer In a previous life and our patrol cars got new dispatch computers. They also used dark blue text on the black desktop, which became virtually invisible during nighttime use and required turning the screen brightness all the way to maximum. Needless to say, changing the screen colors was one of the first changes requested by the officers.
One possible solution to alter the UI is to use the accessibility settings.
Great idea. I've adjusted everything I can for RadioMail and will get a chance to test it out in real life soon.
Just as a heads up on dark mode, my copy of radio mail has bright blue icons on a black screen, at fairly low brightness, two, but all of the text of any kind is in a grayish white that is, to my mind, actually easier to read than the regular daytime screen. I’m pretty sure I did not adjust my dark mode settings in any unusual Way . iPhone SE 8 current iOS
I've attached a screenshot of the Accessibility-adjusted dark mode screen on my iPad. The unadjusted original labels are a little darker, not in bold-type, and not underlined.
When the screen dims due to low ambient light (IE. Nighttime), the blue-on-black Cancel, Connect, and (currently grayed out in the photo) Settings and Stations links are extremely difficult to read. The text on the "Recent" and "Favorites" buttons is blue-on-blue, with a black desktop behind them, and virtually disappears. To be fair, it's not so much the colors used as much as the fact that at night, you tend to look away from the screen at other lights, and then look back at the screen. It takes a while for the night vision to return enough to see the screen. Highly contrasting colors help speed that transition.
Apple-designed? I don't think RadioMail was designed by Apple but by a third party.
Here are some other third party apps and their color schemes:
Evernote - Buttons are black text on green buttons
MS Word - Black text on blue buttons
Google Maps - White text on dark gray background, black icons on blue background and vice versa
Gmail - Gray text on black background, Orange text on dark gray buttons, Gray and orange icons
Apple designed example:
Apple Podcasts - Purple text on black background (yuck!), white on black controls (Play/Pause, -15 secs, +30 secs etc)
Apple Books - White on black text and icons
Apple Maps - Blue icons on dark gray buttons, light gray text on dark gray buttons, light blue text on blue buttons.
Apple Calendar - Red/Orange icons on black desktop, White text on dark gray background
It seems there are a wide variety of color schemes that some app designers are able to use on iPadOS 16.3.1.
Well, even after being an iOS developer for 8 years, I just today
discovered you can set the tintColor at the top level UIWindow/UIView and
it will be inherited by all the sub views. This appears to be how Apple is
applying their color scheme in Podcasts, Books, etc. The default is
definitely blue, though; the app I'm working on right now has the same blue
on black color scheme in dark mode.
