The proliferation of apps that offer a ‘dark theme’ is something that has been going on for awhile, including users that tend to prefer it on their devices (especially if yours uses an OLED display). Twitter is an app that springs to mind that simply looks way better in dark mode, and it seems that Google Photos is rolling out a dark theme update for certain users.
It isn’t just aesthetic appeal however, as Google explained during the 2018 Android Dev Summit that YouTube’s dark mode resulted in a 60% reduction in battery draw from the display.
Despite the fact that dark mode for Google Photos isn’t pure black OLED and is instead a very dark grey, you can still expect battery savings.
The folks over at XDA Developers first spotted that certain users have been receiving dark mode updates for Google Photos, while users on Reddit have also reported the same update—although not everyone has received it.
Personally, I have not received the updates on either my Pocophone F1 or Samsung Galaxy S10+ (with both being on the latest version: 4.17.0.249919200).
Nevertheless, users can expect to see the dark mode update become available soon, as it isn’t clear if it is a server-side update right now. This will follow several Google native apps that already have the feature; including YouTube, Google Keep, and Calendar.
At the moment, you can check if you have received the update by simply turning on the system-wide dark mode on your Android device and checking if Google Photos follows suit. This follows news that Android Q will feature a full dark mode.
Let us know if you’ve received the update in the comments!
[Image Source: Reddit]
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include details on the appearance of dark mode.
