Those of you who have been waiting for the Google Phone app to get a dark mode, well, you’re in luck, as the new update brings just that to the app, though this is a beta update that we’re looking at, it’s still not available in the stable channel. In any case, this update comes via the v26.0.221539659 update, and in order to get the beta version of the app, you will need to opt-in via the Play Store. Once you open the listing of the app, you will see the option to join the beta program right below the “Developer contact” option. Once you opt-in, and get the update, you can switch to the dark mode by hitting “Settings”, then “Display option”, and then just hit the “Dark theme” toggle that you’ll find there. We’re talking about in-app settings, of course, and once you do all that, your Google Phone app will look like shown down below. It is worth noting that Google Phone app is not available for all devices, quite the contrary, so if you don’t have one of the supported phones, you will have to wait a bit for the APK to become available, so that you can try to sideload it. If you do have a phone that supports it, however, you can opt-in to get the beta via the link below the article.
Background: Google had announced, back in August, that the dark theme is on its way to the Google Phone application. Some users have been expecting this update to land much sooner, but here we are, two months after Google’s announcement, and it’s in beta, but it will probably roll out to the stable channel soon as well. Google had already rolled out the dark theme to a number of its applications, including YouTube, Contacts, and several others. Gmail and Chrome, however, did not receive the dark theme yet, and we’re not entirely sure they will, but considering that the company has been updating a ton of apps with it, we’ll probably see it in both Gmail and Chrome at some point. Google actually realized that the dark theme can save quite a bit of battery on smartphones with OLED displays, so as part of its new Android redesign, new Material Design, it’s pushing the dark theme as well, or at least it seems like it.
Impact: Google actually officially confirmed its findings quite recently, confirming that dark themes are really good for battery life, which is probably the real reason behind all of these updates that the company has pushed out since Android 9 Pie arrived. Some users simply prefer dark theme overall, regardless of the battery, as not everyone likes everything to be white all the time, so having options is a good thing. This update will hopefully arrive to the stable channel as well, and soon. The company is also expected to roll out the dark theme to its Google Photos, Gmail, Chrome… and a number of other apps at some point, even though an official confirmation did not arrive yet.