Ask HN: Why isn't light/dark mode triggered based on ambient light sensor?

[eveningtree]

I have to set the theme manually all the time.

Triggering system theme based on time is useless for something like a phone, that moves across lighting environments.

And triggering based on actual light is such an obvious thing to do.

Am I missing something?

[version_five]

I had a vehicle that would switch to night mode, with a lag, every time I drove under a bridge. So just as I was coming out from under a bridge, the nav screen would flash to black background before realizing it wasn't night and flashing back to normal. Manual or time based is better imo

[byoung2]

My car has this feature but there is a sensitivity setting...high sensitivity and it behaves as you describes, orbon cloudy days the night mode comes on...low sensitivity and it takes a few minutes of darkness before it activates. It is even phased so that when it is a little dark the lights come on, then when it is even more dark the dash gets brighter, and then when it is definitely night time the nav screen changes.

[Comevius]

Because most people prefer either one of them regardless of the lighting conditions. I prefer light mode, although I don't read in pitch dark.

[PaulHoule]

Many Garmin GPS unit will switch between light and dark modes based on the time of day and known day-night status.

[flat-pluto]

Which device are you talking about?

I know of several Android phones that have this feature (it is off by default though).

[pestatije]

My Android Google maps does this