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Gmail for Android finally gets a dark theme. Assistant and Maps likely to follow

Christian de Looper
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After teasing a dark theme for Gmail alongside the launch of Android 10 earlier this month, Google has finally started rolling out the new theme for its email app. The new dark theme for Gmail follows a long list of Android apps to get a dark theme over the past year, as well as a systemwide dark theme that was released as part of the new Android 10. Thanks to the Android 10 teasers, we also know that Google Assistant and Google Maps are set to get a dark theme soon. 9to5Google first spotted that the dark theme for Gmail was officially rolling out.

The Android 10 page shows off several new features in Android 10, and the page itself can be switched to dark mode, giving you a look at dark modes for apps that don’t have it yet. We don’t know when Google Assistant and Google Maps will get a dark theme, but it likely won’t be too long.

Google Maps and Google Assistant have supported dark mode features in some capacity, however, full support hasn’t arrived just yet. An update with full support will likely roll out to users very shortly. Originally, Gmail added some basic support for dark mode, too. For example, the Gmail widget works in dark mode when Android 10’s systemwide dark mode is on, and if you open the Gmail app in dark mode, you’ll get a dark splash screen. Now, the whole app will allow for a dark theme.

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Google rolls out app updates in stages, so if you don’t see the option for a dark theme in Gmail just yet, you may need to wait for the update. The feature can be switched on, or you can tell it to follow the system theme, whereby if you have dark theme enabled on Android 10, Gmail will also show it.

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Of course, plenty of other apps have received the dark mode treatment. Recently, Google Pay got dark mode, following in the footsteps of Google News, Google Files, and more. Dark modes have been getting more popular — Apple is adding a dark mode to iOS 13 and iPadOS, and it added a dark mode to MacOS last year.

Apart from dark mode, Android 10 brings a host of new features to the operating system, most notably, new gesture controls and the ability to personalize themes. There’s also a new Focus Mode, which essentially turns off notifications for certain apps and only shows notifications that may be important to you. Focus Mode is an extension of the Digital Wellbeing feature, that was launched as part of Android 9.

Updated on September 10, 2019: Dark theme for Gmail is now rolling out.

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Christian de Looper
Christian de Looper
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Christian’s interest in technology began as a child in Australia, when he stumbled upon a computer at a garage sale that he…
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