Pure black vs dark gray, which one actually hurts your eyes after 3 hours?

I was tweaking a client's dashboard last week at like 11pm, switched everything to #000000 because they demanded it, and after about 3 hours my eyes felt like sandpaper. I ended up dropping it to #121212 and the halos around text disappeared, but now they're saying it's not 'true dark mode'. So which side are you on, does pure black feel sharper or does it just cause more strain for everyone else? I'm honestly torn because I know some folks swear by the OLED contrast, but my personal testing says the gray is way more comfortable for long sessions. Has anyone else had a client or boss insist on pure black and then regretted pushing back?

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1 Comment

the_ben13d ago

#121212 always. Client eyesight beats client ego.