How to use semantic colors to help your iOS app adapt to dark mode
Swift version: 5.6
When specifying colors for objects in your views, it’s often easier to use the built-in semantic colors of UIColor rather than specifying our own custom colors that might not look good in both light and dark mode.
For example, when you are coloring a label, use UIColor.label, .secondaryLabel, or similar so that UIKit will automatically make sure it stands out.
For backgrounds you should use UIColor.systemBackground, .secondarySystemBackground, or similar so that when you layer one view over another they don’t appear to become merged.
And when you’re using fixed colors like .red or .blue you should instead use .systemRed or .systemBlue to get a color that will adapt to the user’s trait environment – it will be a lighter red when in dark mode, and a darker red in light mode, rather than the fixed pure red of .red.
SAVE 50% To celebrate Black Friday, all our books and bundles are half price, so you can take your Swift knowledge further without spending big! Get the Swift Power Pack to build your iOS career faster, get the Swift Platform Pack to builds apps for macOS, watchOS, and beyond, or get the Swift Plus Pack to learn advanced design patterns, testing skills, and more.
Sponsor Hacking with Swift and reach the world's largest Swift community!
Available from iOS 13.0
Similar solutions…
- How to show different images and other views in light or dark mode
- How to detect dark mode in iOS
- How to force a view controller to use light or dark mode
- How to preview your layout in light and dark mode
- How to detect dark mode
About the Swift Knowledge Base
This is part of the Swift Knowledge Base, a free, searchable collection of solutions for common iOS questions.
