If you like dark themes, Apple is making your dreams come true with an all-new dark mode that’s coming with MacOS Mojave. Previous versions of MacOS allowed you to switch to a dark menu bar and dock, but this left many people unsatisfied. This new feature will provide an OS-wide dark theme that affects pretty much all the native MacOS features with a classy black/gray look.
If this is exactly what you’ve always wanted for your Mac, we can show you how to access and enable this mode with just a few steps.
Step 1: Get MacOS Mojave
This dark mode is only available to the average user through MacOS Mojave. At this time, Mojave is not yet available as a free download to everyone, the way the other MacOS updates are. Apple will make it available for all in fall 2018.
If that feels too long for you to wait, Apple will be releasing a public beta in June 2018 that you can download to check out the Mac dark mode. Sign up for Apple’s beta software program here, and you will be able to get the beta and test it out. Of course, betas aren’t always stable, so there is some risk in getting involved in the public beta. Make sure you back up all your valuable data before you begin the process – or download the beta on a Mac machine you don’t use for important purposes to test it out.
When MacOS Mojave comes out later this year, it’s certain to be free like the other recent MacOS versions, which means you will be able to download it and access the new dark mode at no additional cost.
Step 2: Head to System Preferences
Okay, so you have a version of MacOS Mojave and you’re ready to go. What next? Don’t worry, switching to the dark mode is very easy! Start by heading to “System Preferences,” which you can find as the gear icon in your dock, or in the drop-down menu if you click the apple icon in the upper left corner of your Mac screen.
Step 3: Go to General
Once System Preferences is open, look at the top row of icons. All the way to the left, you should see the icon for General, which is a little File drop-down menu icon.
General is where all the basic settings connected to your Mac’s look and color are located. Select it.
Step 4: Switch your Appearance
The very first option in “General” should be “Appearance.” In Mojave, Appearance is divided into two icons, a “light” and a “dark” option. Simply select the “dark” icon to switch MacOS over.
That’s it! If you decide you don’t like the dark mode very much, simply switch back to the normal icon in “Appearance.” You may also want to spend a little more time in General to check out other options for adjusting icon size, highlight color, and so on, so that everything matches your new dark color scheme perfectly.
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