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28 Android Apps With Dark Mode and How to Enable It

by Kaushal

Everyone loves dark mode. It’s not only easy on your eyes but also saves a lot of battery juice. And for the past few years, Google has been pushing dark mode on Android. It started with YouTube and Messages app and recently came to Chrome and Android Q. Rumors have it, soon Google Drive will have dark mode as well. Turns out there are many 3rd party apps that have dark mode inbuilt. You might already be using some of them. Here are 28 popular Android apps with dark mode and how to use it. Let’s check those out.

UPDATE: With the release of Android 10, most native apps such as Google Assistant, Gmail, Dialer will have a dynamic dark mode and you won’t have to manually turn the dark mode on. These apps will release in batches so it may take up to 15 days after 24 september 2019 to receive an update on your phone. Just keep automatic updates on.

Social Media Apps with Dark Mode

1. Twitter

The official Twitter app now comes with a dark mode which you can either set manually or change automatically at sunset. I would have appreciated it even more if it changed according to the system theme but we’ll have to make do with what we have.

To enable the dark mode, go to Settings and Privacy > Display and Sound and enable Dark Mode.

twitter - android app with dark mode

Install Twitter (free)

2. Instagram

Instagram is one of the slow ones to adopt the dark mode but after waiting for a while, it is finally here. It works on Android 10 devices right now and switches between dark and light mode according to the phone’s theme. Simply update your Instagram app on your Android 10 smartphone and see it in action.

Instagram- android app with dark mode

Install Instagram (free)

Google Apps with Dark Mode

3. Play Store

It wasn’t fair that you could download apps with dark mode support from the Play Store but the Play Store app itself hasn’t joined the dark side. However, the irony is over and you can now enable dark mode on Android 10. Simply update the app and it would automatically adjust the theme to system settings.

Install Play Store (pre-installed)

4. Google Maps

If you use Google Maps to navigate through traffic regularly then you would know that it automatically turns on the night mode navigation once the sun hits the horizon. You don’t have to wait for that and can change it from the settings now.

Go to the Maps app and tap the Hamburger button on the top right and select Settings. Scroll to Navigation Settings, Change Color Scheme under Map Display. Set it to Night and done. Now every time you plan a route on Google Maps, it would always show it in Night mode irrespective of the time of the day.

Google Maps with Dark Mode

Install Maps (free)

Messengers

5. Google Messages

Google Messages has a dark mode on individual messages as well as menus. Enabling the dark mode is easy. Simply go to the options button on the top right and tap Enable dark mode in the popup menu. The app goes dark instantly and stays that way throughout the chats and settings menus.

Google Messages dark mode

Install Google Messages (free)

6. Textra

Textra is a popular SMS replacement app for Android with support for a dark theme. You can quickly compose a message from the notification panel. You can customize the app screen from light to Night, Dark, and Pitch Black.

To turn on the dark mode, tap the options button on the top right and go to settings. Tap Customize Look and change the theme to Dark. Textra can replace your existing messaging app and offer a similar experience if not better.

textra-

Install Textra (free)

7. Slack

Slack app for Android comes with a dark mode which you can enable to make the late-night meetings more bearable. Tap the Options button on the top right and select Settings. Scroll to the bottom and enable Dark Mode.

After enabling the dark mode, Slack’s entire UI turns dark but the top and sidebar remain the same color. If you want to go full stealth mode then you can change it to a darker theme. Sadly, there is no option to do it from your phone and you would have to open the Slack app on your computer.

Go to the Slack app on your computer and click your workspace Name on the top left corner and select Preferences. You’ll find all the themes available for the app and enable any one of the themes by clicking the bubble next to it. Kill the app on your phone and restart Slack again and voila! Dark theme Slack with dark sidebar.

Slack

Install Slack (free)

8. Facebook Messenger

Dark Mode: Manual

Facebook Messenger has a lot of cool features. You can play games on Messenger with friends, use it as the default SMS app, and yes, a dark mode which can be activated by sending a moon emoji to a chat. Alternatively, you can go to settings and enable the dark mode there as well.

Facebook Messenger with Dark mode

Install Messenger (free)

9. Skype

Skype has finally released the dark mode on the Android app. If you don’t see the feature yet, just update your Skype app from the Play Store and tap your profile avatar. Select Settings and go to Appearance. Here, you’ll find two modes; Light and Dark. You can change the chat bubble color and choose the high contrast dark theme which would make it completely black and white.

skype

Install Skype (free)

File Managers with Dark Mode

10. Solid File Explorer

Long before ES File Explorer was pulled down from the Play Store, Solid File Explorer had become my go-to file explorer. A decent file explorer should support common file types and offer extra features like file encryption, extraction, cloud integration and of course, dark mode.

There are multiple themes ranging from White to Auto Light + Black. It allows you to fully customize the UI to blend with the overall theme of your phone. You can also change the color of the header to a darker color and make the accents darker as well.

Solid File Explorer with Dark mode

Install Solid Explorer (free)

News Apps with Dark Mode

11. Google News

Google News is a popular news aggregator app which lets you read news from different sources on one app. You can read about specific topics or subscribe to stay up to date with current events.

The dark mode on Google News is only limited to the app interface. As soon as you load a news article, it loads with the layout of the website instead of converting it to app’s native layout. Other than that, the dark mode is fine. If you already use Google News then you can continue using it otherwise the next app is probably a better option for you.

Google News with dark mode

Install Google News (free)

12. Feedly

The dark mode on Feedly is way better than Google News as it offers a consistent dark mode all around. You can read all the articles without having to worry about bright screens again. The only caveat is the websites that redirect you to their own webpage, for that we can use special web browsers which support dark mode.

feedly app with dark mode

Install Feedly (free)

Web Browsers with Dark Mode

13. Google Chrome

We all use Chrome or have used it at some point and though it may not be the best browser out there, it certainly is better than most. The browser doesn’t natively have a dark mode but there is a workaround using Chrome Flags.

It requires activating two Chrome flags on your web browser. One flag lets you activate the dark mode for the browser’s UI and the other one darkens the webpage. Activating the flags is super easy and you can enable the dark mode by following the guide.

Google Chrome with Dark mode

Install Chrome (free)

14. Samsung Internet Browser

Samsung Internet Browser is the closest competition to Chrome on Android. It has inbuilt support for adblockers, controls are on the bottom, and a well-implemented dark mode. Samsung figured out that the dark mode is the future and it especially looks good on Samsung’s Super AMOLED screens.

The setting isn’t hidden behind a maze of options and you can toggle the feature from the menu easily. Tap the Hamburger icon on the bottom right and select Dark mode to turn everything dark. It would not only change the UI but also the website content and unlike Chrome, it doesn’t just invert the colors of the components. If you want to do dark mode right, do it with Samsung Internet Browser.

Samsung Internet- Android apps with Dark mode

Install Samsung Internet (free)

Dialer and Contacts with Dark Mode

15. Google Contacts

Google Contacts has a dark mode which would help you achieve a more consistent look on your phone.

To turn the dark mode on, tap the hamburger icon on the top left. Go to Settings, and select Choose Theme under the Display section. You can choose between Light, Dark, and a custom theme set by Battery Saver.

Google Contacts- Android apps with dark mode

Install Google Contacts (free)

Wallpapers Apps with Dark Mode

16. AMOLED Wallpapers 4K and HD

Most high-end smartphones have super bright screens which get to ridiculous levels. This app has a collection of wallpapers that are designed to keep these phones in mind. You can browse through categories that range from Abstract to subjects like skulls, space, and heroes. The quality is sharp and the wallpapers look amazing on full HD displays.

Simply select an appropriate wallpaper and set it as your wallpaper on the home and lock screen. Yes, you can set different wallpapers on both.

amoled wallpaper with dark mode

Install AMOLED Wallpapers (free)

Videos Apps with Dark Mode

17. YouTube

YouTube offers a dark theme which is much better and you can activate it with just a few steps. Tap your avatar on the top right and go to settings. Select General Settings and enable the Dark theme.

youtube

Install YouTube (free)

18. VLC Media Player

VLC has a lot of features under the hood which makes it a decent choice for a video player. For example, you can play a video in almost any codec with VLC, it supports closed captions, subtitles, multi-track audio, auto-rotation, gesture controls, PIP, etc.

The layout is dynamic by default which you can change and set the dark theme as the permanent layout. Tap the hamburger icon on the top left and go to settings. Scroll down to Extra Settings and tap Interface. The first option is DayNight mode, select the Black theme to go dark.

vlc media player

Install VLC (free)

Weather Apps with Dark Mode

19. Weather Underground

A weather app that tells you more than just ‘if it is going to rain today?’. It offers local weather forecasts in addition to interactive radar, satellite maps, and also notifies you of any upcoming severe weather alerts. The data is crowdsourced from different users, weather stations, and enthusiasts to create a hyper-local network. You can view forecasts of up to 10 days. The dark mode changes the layout to a dark gray but the map in the app remains white.

To activate the dark theme, tap the options button on the top right and select Settings from the list. Choose dark mode under Visual Style and your weather app is now dark.

Weather underground-

Install Weather Underground (free)

Keyboards Apps with Dark Mode

20. Gboard

A good keyboard app goes a long way and Gboard is one of the few keyboards out there that offer useful features other than emojis. It has gestures, multiple language support, inbuilt google search, and even a clipboard. You can change the theme to one of the darker ones to add stealth to the late-night chats.

To change the theme, go to Gboard Settings and select a theme. You can choose from a variety of categories like Solid color, landscapes, and gradients. Tap show more button below Colors theme and select the darkest theme. It would show you a preview, tap Apply to set the theme.

Gboard

Install Gboard (free)

21. Swiftkey

Swiftkey is another keyboard app on my list which is really good.

To enable the dark theme on the keyboard, go to Swiftkey Settings and tap Themes. It will show you all the themes available for your keyboard, select a theme and download it for your phone.

Swiftkey- keyboard with dark mode

Install Swiftkey (free)

Books

22. Kindle

You can directly buy the digital copies of your favorite books from Amazon and start reading on the Kindle app on your Android.

The dark theme for Kindle only changes the layout of the app UI. If you want to read the books in the dark mode then you can simply change the background to black. It helps the eyes during night time and saves battery.

kindle app with dark mode

Check out Kindle (free)

23. Ebook Droid

Let’s say you have a lot of PDF files on your phone, how would you read those files? Kindle certainly isn’t an option. Ebook Droid is your friend. It supports all major document formats such as PDFs, DjVu, XPS, FictionBook, comic book formats, etc.

The dark mode can be applied to any document. You just have to open the app, tap the options button on the top right, and select Book Settings. Checking Day/Night box would turn the dark mode on but would also invert any images in the PDF. You can fix this by checking ‘Positive images in night mode’ option.

ebook droid with dark mode

Install Ebook Droid (free)

Mail Apps with Dark Mode

24. Outlook

The most loved mail app of the professional world, Outlook now comes with a dark mode. Outlook supports dark mode on both iOS and Android, where the iOS app would switch automatically in sync with the system theme whereas you would have to manually flip a switch for the Android version.

Outlook app

Install Outlook (free)

25. Nine

Gmail is the most popular email app in the world but still lacks a dark mode for some reason. Nine is a complete email app that supports major email servers like exchange server, Hotmail, Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, etc.

The dark mode is decent and gives you a black background instead of a dark gray one like other apps. Activating the theme is easy and you just have to go to Settings > General > Appearance and choose your theme. After that check Use True Black to turn on the black background. Now, even the emails would show up in the black theme. However, if you want, you can preserve the message body theme as well.

nine app with dark mode

Install Nine (free)

Alarm

26. Google Clock

An alarm clock, timer, stopwatch, and a clock all in one package. It is dark by default so you don’t have to worry about activating the feature anymore. The app integrates with Spotify to play your playlist as an alarm. You can also trigger your Google Assistant routines with this app.

alarm - Google Clock

Install Google Clock (free)

Notes

27. Evernote

Evernote is officially a note-taking app but you can also use it as a planner, organizer, and notebook. You can scan handwritten notes, add images, links, or audio recordings to the notes.

The dark mode is available but not turned on by default. Tap the hamburger icon, and toggle the switch next to dark theme and done.

Evernote

Install Evernote (free)

Photo Gallery

28. Google Photos

If you’re running Android Oreo or above, you can enable the dark mode for Google Photos in the latest version 4.18. Simply go to Settings > About Phone and tap Build Number seven times. It would generate a prompt that would read ‘You’re a developer now’.

Go to Settings > System > Developer Options > Night mode > Always On.

Google Photos

Install Google Photos (free)

Wrap Up: Android Apps with Dark Mode

These were my picks for Android apps with dark mode. If you have a high-end Samsung phone running One UI, consider enabling it, if you haven’t already. It darkens the settings, notifications menu, and quick settings right off the bat. The dark mode extends to Samsung apps like the Dialer, Contacts, Gallery, Calendar, etc.

The option to enable the dark mode is not hidden behind a maze of settings and you can even toggle it from the Quick Settings menu. To enable the dark mode on Samsung One UI, go to Settings > Display > select Night mode from the list of options. You can enable the Night mode to use it comfortably during the night. It would only affect Samsung apps.

Samsung One UI dark mode in Settings app

OnePlus users can also enable dark mode from the Settings page. It is available on OxygenOS 3.0 and above.

To enable the Dark Mode on OxygenOS, go to Settings > Display > scroll down to Themes. You can choose one of the three options listed; Colorful, Light, and Dark. Enabling the dark mode would turn the Settings, App drawer, and Quick Settings Dark. Notifications, however, remain light. OnePlus apps like the dialer, contacts, and messages also change the theme to dark to match the phone’s overall theme but that’s about it.

OnePlus Dark mode in Oxygen OS

What do you think of these android apps with dark mode, let me know on Twitter?

Also Read: Top 4 Apps for Texting Between Android and iPhone

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