Two months ago, Google shared with us the results of a study which concluded that using dark backgrounds and Dark Modes on devices equipped with OLED screens can significantly lower the consumption of energy. Now, it looks like numerous users will be finally able to choose the dark mode on their devices, as the introduction of this feature on Android Q has been pretty much confirmed by one of Google’s engineers. This will surely be a great move, as most Android smartphones are using OLED screens, and the new feature will allow them to extend the battery life.
Google planned the introduction of the Dark Mode for quite some time
A recent report by Android Police mentioned a note in the Chromium bug tracker left by Lukasz Zbylut, who stated that the Dark Mode has been approved as an Android Q feature. Moreover, he posted the note in October, which means that Google has been considering introducing the Dark Mode for quite some time. In his note, Zbylut stated that “Dark Mode is an approved Q feature. The Q team wants to ensure that all preloaded apps support dark mode natively. In order to ship dark mode successfully, we need all UI elements to be ideally themed dark by May 2019”.
Android Q beta will launch in May
Zbylut also mentioned that users will be able to select the Dark Mode in the Settings under the Display menu. The note has been since turned to private, which makes it even more obvious that works on a Dark Mode are indeed ongoing.
The next version of Android OS, named Q, is set to become available in a beta form sometime in May, soon after Google I/O 2019, which explains why Google has begun working on the Dark Mode so long ago.
Frances might be just at the beginning of her career, but after attending a technical school, she has a fresh perspective on today’s technology. She contributes to the site with tech news.