In a world where you can have 3D
scenes rendered in real time as your smartphone’s background, plain black
wallpapers aren’t the most eye-catching option. However, they can offer battery
life improvements over colored wallpapers on some displays.
Plain black wallpapers can also
make text easier to read, helping the icons stand out. They won’t be lost in
the jumble of colors — or animated fish, if you’re using a live wallpaper.
Will It Save Battery Life?
On most computer displays, such
as the computer screen you’re probably reading this article on, using a black
background won’t save you any battery life. No matter what color a pixel is –
whether it’s dark black or blinding white – there’s a backlight at the back of
your screen and it’s constantly outputting light. The black pixels block more
of the backlight, but it’s still behind the black pixel, using power.
For many portable devices –
including Apple’s iPhone – you can’t save any battery life by using a black
background. Like on a computer’s LCD monitor, the iPhone’s backlight is
constantly shining when the screen is on.
However, this doesn’t apply if
you’re using a mobile device with an AMOLED (also known as Super AMOLED or
OLED) display. OLED screens don’t have a solid backlight. Each pixel on an OLED
screen is an “organic light emitting diode” that produces its own light. When
the pixel is black, it isn’t producing any light. When the pixel is white, it’s
producing light.
In other words, if you use a black
background on an AMOLED display, your display will produce less light. This
will help save battery power, squeezing more battery life out of your device.
There are many devices with
AMOLED displays out there, including the popular Samsung Galaxy S3. The Nokia
Lumia 900 has an AMOLED display, although the Lumia 920 has an IPS LCD display.
To check the type of display your smartphone or tablet has, examine its
specifications or perform a Google search.
Setting a Plain Black Wallpaper
on Android
To set a plain black wallpaper on
Android, open this page in your browser and taphere to view the plain-black wallpaper image. Long-press the image and tap
Save image to save it to your device.
Long-press on your home screen
and tap Gallery to select a wallpaper from your device. If you’re using an
older version of Android or a manufacturer-provided interface, you may
have to tap Wallpaper after long-pressing your home screen.
Tap the Download folder in the
gallery, select your plain black wallpaper, and confirm the operation.
Remember: Setting a plain black
wallpaper will only improve your Android’s battery life if it has an OLED
display. However, we’ve also got some tips
that will help maximize any Android device’s battery life. Don’t
use a task killer, though.
Setting a Plain Black Wallpaper
on iOS
To set a plain black wallpaper on
iOS, open this page in Safari and taphere to view the plain-black background image. Long-press the wallpaper and
save it to your device.
Return to the home screen, tap
the Settings icon, and select Brightness & Wallpaper.
Browse for a new wallpaper and
select your Camera Roll – you’ll see the black image you saved. Select it as
your background.
Setting a plain black wallpaper
won’t improve your battery life on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. Don’t
worry, though – we’ve got some tips
for improving your iOS device’s battery life.
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