gmail dark theme android ios

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Gmail Dark Theme officially rolling out for Android 10 and iOS devices

With Android 10 ushering in the age of dark mode for Google and their apps, Gmail looks to be the latest tool to get a night mode makeover.

gmail dark theme android ios

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Gmail for Android and iOS have seen the slow roll out of the change since the beginning of the month. The increased focus on introducing night-mode fits in with the launch of Android 10; and its focus on increasing users’ digital wellness.

While being friendlier on a user’s eyes, there’s also a lot of evidence now that dark-mode improves the battery life on modern phone screens.

The dark mode release comes in the wake of Android 10 and iOS 13, both being launched earlier this month. The new colour scheme will be an important cosmetic change as the latest operating systems embrace dark themes for physical and digital wellness.

The update is starting to be seen in the wild but is still busy rolling out. While you wait for the change to propogate, it might be a good time to remind yourself of what’s coming to Android 10; when your manufacturer finally releases it for you handset.

What’s Gail’s dark mode all about?

Design

The new look for Gmail will give you an idea of the way Google will be implementing dark mode if you aren’t on Android 10 yet. The Gmail inbox will show up in a dark shade of gray rather than a pure black.

In addition, the search field and navigation drawer a highlighted in a lighter shade of gray.

Inbox display

For your inbox, your unread messages will be displayed with white text for the sender, subject and meta information. The actual body text will be gray.

Once the message has been read the message will be displayed in fainter versions of the same colours as you’ve already become accustomed to.

The same colour scheme is used when composing a new message. Some users have complained that while the white and gray text works well; it can be hard to read email signatures in darker colours.

Extending battery life

The dark mode for Gmail will work hand in hand with the system “Dark Theme” setting in Android 10. In addition the mode will be enabled when switching to battery saver.

However, if you’re wanting to run in dark mode permanently, you’ll be able to switch it on from within the app. You’ll need to navigate to Settings and then Theme in Android, and Dark Theme in iOS.

The update is rolling out as a server side update; it could take up to 15 days before it goes live across the board.