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It looks like Google Play is starting to get dark mode.
The new theme isn’t widely available yet, but it’s already hitting some devices that run Android 10 according to XDA.
This seems to be a native Google Play dark mode
While it’s possible to force dark mode to show up for just about everything, this seems to be native.
It reportedly showed up on a Google Pixel 2 XL with Android 10 but without having the forced option enabled that you can access from Developer Options.
The user is also running the latest version of the Play Store which is 16.6.25. Most users may be running on version 16.5.15, which still shows the app in all white, but with the new design.
Updating to the latest version also doesn’t seem to activate dark mode. Even with the system-wide dark theme enabled, installing version 16.6.26 didn’t force dark mode to appear.
A small server-side test is probably underway
With the dark mode showing up inconsistently on devices, Google is probably testing the new theme.
This isn’t uncommon for Google to do, either. The new (and now current for most or all users) style for the Play Store was in testing for quite a while before it rolled out widely.
Google looks to be doing the same thing here with dark mode for this app. It’s also rolling out dark mode for Gmail in the same way. Which has recently been spotted for some users but isn’t showing up for everyone.
If this is a small test, or even if it’s starting to roll out to everyone, there’s no telling how long it will take before it’s there for every user on Android 10.
The other key thing to keep in mind is that it is probably only available to Android 10 users, as this seems to be a common thread for those who have seen it.
The darker theme drapes over everything
Just like with the new design for the Play Store washing everything in white, the new dark mode theme drapes over just about every aspect of the store.
Anywhere you would normally see white, you’ll be greeted with the darker colors. The only things that won’t change are the color accents for things like install buttons, icons etc.
Google may or may not announce the arrival of the Play Store’s dark mode. That said, people will surely take notice once it starts to show up on more devices. Announcement or not.
