Google’s next big Android update can force dark mode and icon themes

Android 16 volition fto users unit acheronian mode onto apps that don’t enactment it natively.

Google has started rolling retired its latest batch of Android 16 features to beta testers, including expanded enactment for acheronian mode and themed app icons. The QPR2 beta 1 was announced yesterday alongside Google launching the Pixel 10 series, and is expected to get a afloat nationalist merchandise sometime successful December, according to Google’s merchandise timeline.

The beta includes a caller acheronian taxable enactment that volition “intelligently invert the UI of apps that look airy contempt users having selected the acheronian theme” erstwhile enabled, according to Google’s announcement, forcibly making apps that don’t natively enactment the diagnostic to look darker. Google says this is “largely intended arsenic an accessibility feature” for users with debased imaginativeness oregon photosensitivity, and volition besides automatically darken app splash screens and set presumption barroom colors to lucifer the darker theming.

Another diagnostic volition let users to forcibly use themed icon colors to apps that don’t natively enactment them. Android’s icon theming presently lone works if app developers person provided a monochrome mentation of their app icon that tin beryllium adjusted, which is annoying for users who privation to use a accordant aesthetic crossed their full location page. Auto-themed app icons spare developers from adding this capableness manually, removing the hassle for users to customize their phone’s theme.

A new “Parental Controls” enactment is being added to Android Settings to marque it easier to negociate built-in controls and Google Family Link. The on-device controls are pin-protected, and let parents to acceptable surface clip limits, downtime schedules, artifact apps, and filter retired mature contented from hunt engines.

There are besides a clump of improvements that marque migrating information betwixt Android and iOS devices much unafraid and reliable, grow enactment for annotating and editing PDF documents, integrate Personal Audio Sharing for Bluetooth LE devices straight into the system’s output switcher, and more. You tin cheque retired the afloat diagnostic database connected the Android developers’ blog.

The QPR2 beta 1 update should automatically beryllium disposable for Pixel users who are enrolled successful the Android beta program. Anyone other volition person to hold for the authoritative merchandise aboriginal this twelvemonth to play astir with the caller Android features.