Photo by Seeeditch / Public Domain
Holding 80 percent of the global market share, Android has risen to become the world’s most popular mobile operating system. Consequently, Android users can get their hands on a wide variety of apps, from specialized gaming apps from online casino platforms to productivity apps, and everything in between. Over the past year, Android has also made a welcome return to the dark side, and Dark Mode is now a feature of over 45 apps in the Google Play Store.
Earlier users of the O/S will remember that once upon a time Android was completely Dark Mode. Then Google decided on its Material Design language and LightMode (white) and changed things around. Still, lo and behold, last autumn, the tech giant confirmed that yes, Dark Mode did indeed save battery life on AMOLED displays and was a bit easier on the eyes to boot, so Android could go ahead and revert back to the dark side.
We already know that Android Q will natively support the mode — thanks to some juicy leaked screenshots that showed a device with system-wide Dark Mode and different toggles (Always On, Automatic and Always Off) — and it looks like Google will push for all future apps and screens to enable Dark Mode to ensure unity across the O/S. For those Android users happy with Oreo and Pie, however, there is a selection of apps currently available that do support Dark Mode, even on older Android versions. The following is not an exhaustive list, but as of June 2019, here are the apps we’ve found that can bring a little night into your life.
- AccuWeather: Weather Alerts & Live Storm Radar / Free
Developer: AccuWeather
- Discord – Chat for Gamers / Free
Developer: Discord Inc.
- Enpass Password Manager / Free
Developer: Sinew Software Systems Pte. Ltd.
- Evernote / Free
Developer: Evernote Corporation
- Feedly – Smarter News Reader / Free
Developer: Feedly Team
- Fenix 2 for Twitter / $3.99
Developer: mvilla
- Firefox Browser / Free
Developer: Mozilla Corporation
- Google Beta / Free
Developer: Google LLC
Some users of Google’s Beta app have reported that they don’t have the dark theme enabled in their app, but others (including Android Police) have found a way to activate it. It’s worth bearing in mind that this app is still in Beta stage, so Google is still experimenting with things, and that could explain why it’s not universally accessible. If you can and want to access the new feature, go to More > Settings > General > Dark Theme. It will switch up Discover, Explore, Search and Settings, and you can choose to keep it: “Always” on “Follow System Setting” or “Never.”
- Google Calculator / Free
Developer: Google LLC
- Google Calendar / Free
Developer: Google LLC
- Google Contacts / Free
Developer: Google LLC
- Google Keep – Notes and Lists / Free
Developer: Google LLC
- Google Messages / Free
Developer: Google LLC
- Google Phone / Free
Developer: Google LLC
- Google News & Weather / Free
Developer: Google LLC
- Google Photos / Free
Developer: Google LLC
- Instapaper / Free
Developer: Instant Paper, Inc.
- JotterPad – Writer, Screenplay, Novel / Free
Developer: Two App Studio Pte. Ltd
- Materialistic – Hacker News / Free
Developer: Ha Duy Trung
- Medium / Free
Developer: Medium Corporation
- Memoria Photo Gallery Pro / $1.99
Developer: Memoria Gallery
- Messenger – Text and Video Chat for Free / Free
Developer: Facebook
Facebook Messenger started rolling out Dark Mode back in April, but for some strange reason, no one could find it, and you could only activate it by sending a moon message to your contacts. Thankfully, it has properly rolled out now to all users who can manually switch it on in the “Settings” screen.
- Monospace – Writing and Notes / Free
Developer: Jack Underwood
- Myki: Offline Password Manager & Authenticator / Free
Developer: Myki Inc.
- Oneplus Camera Roll – Gallery / Free
Developer: Lukas Koller
- Opera Browser / Free
Developer: Opera Software
- Pocket: Save. Read. Grow. / Free
Developer: Mozilla Corporation
- Pocket Casts – Podcast Player / $3.99
Developer: Podcast Media LLC
- Puffin Web Browser / Free
Developer: CloudMosa
- Pulse SMS / Free
Developer: Klinker Apps, Inc.
- QuickEdit Text Editor – Writer, Code Editor / Free
Developer: Rhythm Software
- Reddit / Free
Developer: reddit Inc.
- reddit is fun (unofficial) / Free
Developer: talklittle
- Samsung Internet Browser / Free
Developer: Samsung Electronics
- Signal Private Messenger / Free
Developer: Signal Foundation
- Slack / Free
Developer: Slack Technologies, Inc.
- Snapseed / Free
Developer: Google LLC
- Solid Explorer File Manager / Free
Developer: NeatBytes
- Sync for Reddit / Free
Developer: Red Apps LTD
- Talon for Twitter / $2.99
Developer: Klinker Apps, Inc.
- Telegram and Telegram X / Free
Developer: Telegram FZ-LLC
- Todoist: To-Do List, Tasks & Reminders / Free
Developer: Doist
- Tusky for Mastodon / Free
Developer: Keyless Palace
- Tweetings for Twitter / $2.49
Developer: RBD Solutions Limited
- Twitch / Free
Developer: Twitch Interactive, Inc.
- Twitter / Free
Developer: Twitter, Inc
The Twitter apps was another early-ish adopter of Dark Mode — much to users’ relief. Reading 140 characters or less on a four-inch screen was challenging enough, so the inky blackness of Night Mode brought relief and joy to tweeters the world over. It’s infinitely better than the default LightMode, and you can access it by toggling it on in the “Settings” menu to see what we mean.
- Viber Messenger – Messages, Group Chats & Calls / Free
Developer: Viber Media S.à r.l.
- Wikipedia / Free
Developer: Wikimedia Foundation
- YouTube / Free
Developer: Google LLC
We don’t have the exact stats on hand, but it’s safe to say that YouTube is one of the most popular content-sharing platforms across the globe. It may once have been a strangely curated collection of cat videos, dodgy home camera exploits and badly-filmed concert footage, but nowadays, YouTube is a source of information and content for virtually every topic you can think of and a powerful business development tool. It was also one of the first apps to rollout Dark Mode on Android, and you can switch it on in the “Settings” menu easily.
