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nickP14
User level: Level 1 (4 points)

iPadOS Preview app Markup ink colors invert brightness in dark mode

iPadOS Markup Bug: Ink colour brightness invert when drawing in the Preview app


Device Information:

  • Device: iPad Pro (12.9” 2021)
  • Operating System: iPadOS 27.2


the Issue:

This hasn’t been an issue in the many years I’ve used the app.

I am experiencing a persistent bug when using the built-in Markup tools within the standalone Preview app. When I select the black pen/marker to draw or write, the ink displays on the screen as white. Conversely, when I select the white pen/marker, it displays as black. The colors are completely inverted. Other colours also have their brightnesses inverted, e.g. selecting a very light blue draws a very dark blue.


Steps to Reproduce:

  1. Open a PDF document or image file in the Preview app on iPadOS.
  2. Activate the built-in Markup toolbar.
  3. Select the pen tool and choose the color black.
  4. Draw on the document (the stroke appears white instead of black).
  5. Choose the color white and draw on the document (the stroke appears black instead of white).


Troubleshooting Already Attempted:

I have already restarted several times, uninstalled and reinstalled the app, tried with several files.

It only works when toggling system-wide dark-mode off which I won’t do permanently, and verified that both "Smart Invert" and "Classic Invert" are completely disabled under Accessibility settings. Despite these changes, the Markup tool continues to invert brightness of colours when in dark mode.


Is this a known bug in the current release or will a patch or software update be available to address it.

Posted on Nov 3, 2026 1:56 AM

1 reply

fernelius14
User level: Level 1 (24 points)

Nov 9, 2026 2:49 PM in response to nickP14

I've also been experiencing this problem. It had been working earlier in the day -- actually just a short time before. I tried selecting a lighter color, which was dark. It's happened other days, also, with a lot of frustration. I, then, wondered if it was tied to dark mode and tried the toggle in control center. I had noticed my Mac had switched to dark mode a short time before. Turning off dark mode fixed the problem. This confirmed the colors were inverting. Then searched for your post. I suspect this has frustrated a number of people. There are already several "Me too" submissions here. I use graph paper with a white background as my template on these files, so the color of the background does not change with dark mode. If the background doesn't change, the pen shouldn't either.


I'm using an iPad Pro 13 (M5), and it's happened on 27.2, 27.2.1, and maybe some older but recent versions.

Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256388028