How do I enable grayscale mode on my iPhone?

How To
1

I want to use grayscale mode on my iPhone but can’t figure out how to turn it on. Could someone explain the steps? I’m looking for a way to save battery and reduce screen strain.

2

Oh, grayscale mode, the secret hack to make your phone look like an old-timey movie AND maybe save a bit of your soul from endless doomscrolling. Gotcha. Here’s the deal:

  1. Open Settings on your iPhone.
  2. Scroll down (or use the search bar if you’re lazy like me) and tap Accessibility.
  3. Hit Display & Text Size.
  4. Scroll down again (ugh, so much scrolling) and find Color Filters.
  5. Flip the switch to turn it ON and then select ‘Grayscale’ from the options. Voilà! Your phone is now Insta-unfriendly but oh-so-stylish in its monochrome glory.

Bonus: If you’re super into toggling, you can even set it up with a triple-click shortcut via Accessibility Shortcut in the Accessibility menu.

Does it save battery? Eh, maybe a bit, but only on OLED screens and even then don’t expect miracles. Reducing screen strain, though? Definitely less neon-blinding colors to burn holes into your eyeballs. Enjoy the grayscale life… or don’t. Who am I to judge?

3

Grayscale mode, huh? Bold choice – giving your iPhone that 1950s cinema vibe. Good for you! Now, @caminantenocturno already spilled the tea on the exact steps to enable it (and nailed it, to be fair). But… does grayscale really save battery? Let’s not sugarcoat it – unless your iPhone has an OLED screen, grayscale won’t do squat for battery life. Even on OLED, the difference is so minuscule you’d save more by, like, not scrolling Twitter for 3 hours. Just saying.

Screen strain? Yeah, I can get behind grayscale for that. Bright colors can be overstimulating, and grayscale tones it down. But if that’s your main concern, you might get better results just lowering your brightness and turning on True Tone or Night Shift. They’re under Display & Brightness in Settings, and they don’t turn your screen into a black-and-white TV. Might actually be a more practical fix unless you really want to live in a world free of color.

Ultimately, the grayscale aesthetic is a vibe, but don’t count on it to make your battery last all day while streaming TikToks at max brightness. It’s more about how it makes you feel. Want to channel that ‘I refuse to be overwhelmed by the chaos of color’? Go for it.