Google Phone app might finally introduce a dark theme (Update: It's here!)

Update, November 15, 2018 (02:55 PM EST): We’ve all been waiting very patiently for it, and now it’s finally here: the Google Phone app now includes a dark mode, via Android Police. The newest version (v26) includes a toggle switch that allows you to turn dark mode on or off as you see fit.

The rollout of Google Phone v26 is happening now, but it could be a few days before you see it. Once you have it, open up the Google Phone app and click the three-dot menu icon at the top right of the screen. Once there, hit Settings > Display Options and you should see the toggle.

Continue reading below to learn more about the new Google Phone dark theme.

Original Article, October 26, 2018 (01:18 PM EST): The Google Phone app contains a surprising number of features, but something that’s missing is a dark theme. However, Android Police‘s recent teardown of the latest Phone update revealed that a dark theme might finally make it to the app.

Funny enough, the new mode was also found in the previous version of the Phone app. The dark theme was incredibly buggy, however. Problems included text which was not color-inverted to stand out against the dark background and a white-to-gray gradient near the top of some screens.

The dark theme found in the latest Phone update seemingly features none of those problems. Functionality remains mostly the same across the two Phone versions, but it is nice to see Google iron out the dark theme issues before it is ready for the masses.

The teardown also revealed that the Phone app will see if you have Battery Saver enabled and suggest switching to the dark theme. The dark theme does not feature those deep blacks we come to expect from OLED displays, but the pixels are darker.

The Phone app will also talk to the Contacts app in order for both to display either a light or dark theme.

Finally, the Phone app will be able to migrate any blocked numbers to other apps. This means that Android Messages might be able to block messages sent from blocked numbers. This also means video calling apps like Google Duo can use the same blocked numbers list, even if they have their own lists.

Phone app version 25 is rolling out over the next few days, so make sure to download the app at the link below. We do not know when we will see the dark theme and blocked numbers sharing features, though they might be right around the corner.