It seems like yet another Google-made app will receive Dark Mode in the near future, Google Phone. This is not exactly a secret, as the company itself already teased dark mode for Google Phone, but the new APK teardown actually reveals more info about it. Google Phone 25 reveals that Google Phone’s dark mode will be referred to as ‘Dark Theme’, and the app will be able to automatically enable it when the system battery saver is enabled, though you’ll have full control over that functionality, of course. You will, of course, be able to flip the switch and make the app dark all the time. Now, the ‘Dark mode in device Settings is on’ is also mentioned in the code, which means that it will be able to automatically activate itself when you’re using system dark mode, though this is referring to stock Android dark theme mode, so it will probably not work with third-party skins, but who knows. On top of everything, Google Phone 25 teardown also reveals that the dark theme will have to ability to automatically apply itself if it’s applied in the Google Contacts app. If you check out the gallery down below, you’ll get a good idea as to how the dark theme will look in Google Phone, as those screenshots actually show it in action.
This is not all that Google Phone 25 APK teardown revealed, though. It seems like Google is working on the ability to “migrate” blocked numbers to “other apps”, and this could be a reference to Google’s Messages app, as “texts” are cited in the code. The best way to get the ability to activate Dark Theme is by signing up for the Google Phone beta program, you can do that via the app’s Google Play Store listing, just look for the button that says “Become a beta tester”, and you’re good to go.
Background: Google has already rolled out the dark theme to some of its applications, not to mention that stock Android offers such a mode as well, though it doesn’t work as it should in Android Pie, some menus are still not dark for whatever reason, Google is expected to fix that soon, though. In any case, Google’s Messages app (formerly known as Android Messages), received the dark theme update a while back, and it can be enabled within the app’s settings, if that’s what you prefer. Google is expected to roll out the dark theme to pretty much all of its main apps, even though the rollout is proceeding slower than expected. The company is also rolling out its new Material Theme to its apps, and that is not exactly going as far either, as Google Keep (aka Keep Notes), Google Photos, Messages, and several other apps received the update thus far, but not YouTube, Gmail… and some other apps that are expected to get it soon.
Impact: the dark theme is not exactly a ground-breaking feature, but some people simply prefer it over the almost all-white layout of Google’s apps, especially after the new Material Theme arrived, and made apps whiter (referring to the background) than ever before. Flipping the switch and enabling dark theme can also have a positive effect on your battery life if your phone is using an OLED display, so some users may use it for that reason specifically. In any case, the dark theme is expected to arrive to Google Phone stable channel in the near future, so stay tuned.
