Google’s Next Big Android Update Can Force Dark Mode And Icon Themes

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

Google has started rolling retired its latest batch of Android 16 features to beta testers, including expanded support for acheronian mode and themed app icons. The QPR2 beta 1 was announced yesterday alongside Google launching nan 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 action that will “intelligently invert nan UI of apps that look ray contempt users having selected nan acheronian theme” erstwhile enabled, according to Google’s announcement, forcibly making apps that don’t natively support nan characteristic to look darker. Google says this is “largely intended arsenic an accessibility feature” for users pinch debased imagination aliases photosensitivity, and will besides automatically darken app scatter screens and set position barroom colors to lucifer nan darker theming.

Another characteristic will let users to forcibly use themed icon colors to apps that don’t natively support them. Android’s icon theming presently only useful if app developers person provided a monochrome type of their app icon that tin beryllium adjusted, which is annoying for users who want to use a accordant artistic crossed their full location page. Auto-themed app icons spare developers from adding this capacity manually, removing nan hassle for users to customize their phone’s theme.

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

There are besides a bunch of improvements that make migrating information betwixt Android and iOS devices much unafraid and reliable, grow support for annotating and editing PDF documents, merge Personal Audio Sharing for Bluetooth LE devices straight into nan system’s output switcher, and more. You tin cheque retired nan afloat characteristic database connected nan Android developers’ blog.

The QPR2 beta 1 update should automatically beryllium disposable for Pixel users who are enrolled successful nan Android beta program. Anyone other will person to hold for nan charismatic merchandise later this twelvemonth to play astir pinch nan caller Android features.