Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday

Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday

Oct 1, 2019 - Technology

The biggest smartphone apps are adopting dark mode

Sara Fischer, author of Media Trends

Illustration: Rebecca Zisser/Axios

The biggest smartphone apps are all launching "dark modes" for users to be able to use their phones at night without hurting their eyes.

Why it matters: Dark mode reduces glare at night and saves battery life.

Facebook appears to be testing a dark mode after the company promised it in April. In April it launched the feature on its Messenger app.

Gmail's dark mode began rolling out to users last week after teasing it a few weeks ago.
Instagram is beta testing a dark mode for Android as of last week.
Twitter has had a night mode since 2016. It introduced an even darker mode earlier this year.

The big picture: A bunch of apps have rolled out dark modes over the past three years, including Reddit, Slack, weather apps and Waze.

Go deeper: Apple blocks popular apps that fight phone addiction

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Rebecca Falconer

6 mins ago - World

China's Xi swipes at U.S.: "Countries shouldn't impose rules on others"

China's President Xi Jinping during a video summit in Beijing on Friday. Photo: Li Xueren/Xinhua via Getty Images

China's President Xi Jinping on Tuesday warned against "bossing others around or meddling in others' internal affairs" and called for "more fair and equitable" global governance.

Why it matters: Xi's thinly veiled swipes at the U.S. during an online speech at the Boao Forum for Asia economic forum come at a time of heightened tension between Beijing and Washington over trade, human rights and China's strategic and economic ambitions.

Go deeper (1 min. read)

4 hours ago - Politics & Policy

U.S. ambassador to Russia will return home briefly: State Department

John Sullivan, U.S. Ambassador to Russia, during a briefing in Moscow in 2015. Photo: Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS via Getty Images

The State Department said Monday that the U.S. ambassador to Russia, John Sullivan, will now be returning to the United States this week before returning to Moscow "in the coming weeks."

Why this matters: The statement, from a State Department spokesperson, comes just hours after Axios reported that Sullivan had indicated he intended to stand his ground and stay in Russia after the Kremlin “advised” him to return home to talk with his team.

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Jonathan Swan, Zachary Basu

4 hours ago - World

Scoop: Leaked Ukraine memo reveals scope of Russia's aggression

Russian President Vladimir Putin visits a military exposition in Sevastopol, Crimea, in Jan. 2020. Photo: Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

Russia has been holding last-minute military exercises near commercial shipping lanes in the Black Sea that threaten to strangle Ukraine's economy, according to an internal document from Ukraine's ministry of defense reviewed by Axios.

Why it matters: With the eyes of the world on the massive buildup of troops in eastern Ukraine, the leaked memo shows Russian forces escalating their presence on all sides of the Ukrainian border.

Go deeper (2 min. read)