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[Update: Only Android 10+] Google app for Android and iOS adds official dark mode

Google has been rolling out dark mode to its various apps for over a year at this point, but the Google app’s dark mode never fully stuck on Android or iOS. Today, Google has confirmed that rollout is finally happening for all users.

In a tweet, Google confirmed that starting today and over the next week, the Google app for Android and iOS is getting dark mode officially. On Android 10 and iOS 13, this follows the system setting/toggle as most other Google apps do. Like other Google apps, too, the app has a mostly gray design.

On older Android and iOS smartphones/versions, dark mode is still accessible through an in-app setting. Heading into the Google app’s settings brings up an option to choose your preference. This setting can also be used on Android 10/iOS 13 to force one mode or the other if you don’t want the app to match the system setting.


Update 5/21: Google isn’t actually rolling out dark mode to older Android versions yet. Clarified in a forum post, Google explains that the ongoing rollout right now is only for Android 10+ and iOS 12/13. For now, you’ll still have to enroll in the beta to get your hands on dark mode on older versions of Android. Shame.


When the rollout does hit your device, you may see a pop-up on the main screen that says “Dark theme is available” and links to the settings for changing the app’s theme.

Notably, though, the dark mode for the Google app, at least on Android, has been available for quite some time for many users. We spotted wide rollouts of dark mode in the stable app all the way back in October, and beta users have had it even longer. Still, if you’re on iOS or just missed out on the rollout previously on Android, it should arrive on your device within the next week.

So really, we’re just missing dark mode for Google Maps at this point.

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