Overview

The Francis app release brings a dramatic new Dark Mode to users devices. As well as an aesthetic choice for smartphone users, the new setting brings accessibility and power-saving improvements alongside the potential to feel safer in the dark.  

What’s new in Francis

Rolling out next week, the update makes it possible for users to view their app in a dramatic new colour scheme.

Accessibility improvements

The new Dark Mode can also make it easier to use the apps at the start or end of the day, by reducing screen glare in low light conditions, helping users who are suffering from eye fatigue. For users with longer-term sight issues, the additional contrast can also make using apps easier. 

Helping users to feel safer

The new Dark Mode aims to help reduce the feeling of vulnerability that some users can feel when using their phones in the dark at the bus stop. By significantly reducing the brightness of the screen through switching to the Dark Mode, it will be less obvious to others that travellers are using a mobile phone.

Power saving

By making use of this new functionality customers can save a little of their battery too, with the brightness of the screen naturally lower and using up less power, particularly if the device has an OLED or AMOLED screen.

Google has confirmed that using Dark Mode on OLED screens has been a huge help for battery life. For example, at 50% brightness, the Dark Mode interface in the YouTube app saves about 15% screen energy compared to a flat white background. 

No changes to the ticket view

Our design team have worked hard to ensure the apps look great in Dark Mode, particularly when it comes to boarding. 

In an effort to avoid any confusion showing or scanning a ticket, the ticket view will ignore the Dark Mode setting. This means that tickets shown to drivers will always appear in the normal (light) theme and that instructions to drivers are unchanged by this update. 

How to turn on Dark Mode

Users will now be able to switch on Dark Mode by going to the settings menu and choosing one of three settings: On, Off or System default.

For Android 10 and iOS 13 users, Dark Mode is now supported by the operating system, setting the Passenger Dark Mode to “System default” will ensure the app matches the system setting.

System default will be the preselected option with this update, meaning if the users have Dark Mode enabled on iOS 13 or Android 10, the app will automatically adopt Dark Mode too.