We’ve been hearing for a while now that Android Q will be getting a system wide dark mode, and today XDA developers have released a first look at the new mode. Dark mode will be enabled via a toggle in Display settings and will let you choose between always on, always off, or enabled automatically, we’re not sure if that’s via light sensor or predefined time boundaries, or both.
Apps won’t support the dark mode by “default”: Google doesn’t seem to want to force the UI change in an app and cause inadvertent issues, like black text on a black background – very Douglas Adams perhaps but not very useful for users. Developers will need to target a new API and make sure their app responds appropriately when the system switches the theme.
Here’s a few example of the new Dark mode in the UI:
Google has been on a rampage in the past few weeks / months releasing updates to their suite of apps to support night mode. At this stage it’s a safe bet that the majority if not all pre-installed Google apps (and many others) will have night mode for the release of Android Q. Many third party developers already have a version of night mode and as such will be able to support the system wide setting with little to no effort once it’s launched.
Here are a few Google Apps in dark mode:
If you want to see more of the nitty gritty details or a lot lot more screenshots of apps with night mode check out the XDA post.
