Google Play Store spotted crossing over to the dark side with Android 10

Google has been rolling out dark mode to almost all of its system apps, in-line with the Android 10 release. Just yesterday, dark mode was spotted rolling out on the Gmail for Android app. The dark theme on Gmail is reportedly a server-side roll-out, instead of a Play Store update. Now it seems it’s the Google Play Store’s turn to go dark.

Mishaal Rahman, editor-in-chief of XDA Developers, spotted the Play Store’s dark mode on his Pixel 2 XL running Android 10. With system-wide dark mode enabled on his device, he was able to see a dark theme take over the Google Play Store’s UI. He notes that the Play Store’s dark mode could be a possible server-side update too. You can check out some images of the Google Play Store dark mode below.

Why go dark?

Well, a dark mode is easier on your eyes for one. It’s also a great way of preserving the battery life on phones that use OLED displays because it allows the device to turn off or dim individual pixels on the screen. For instance, Google says that YouTube running in dark mode at 100% brightness can save up to 60% more battery compared to normal mode.

With Android 10’s system-wide dark mode, not only do Google’s own apps cross over to the dark side, but other third-party apps that have the feature also go dark. Prominent third-party apps with a dark mode include Pocket, Amazon Kindle, and Gboard.

As reported by XDA, Google Play Store’s dark mode is available for version 16.6.25 of the app on Android 10. If you haven’t received it, don’t sweat it just yet. If the dark theme is rolling out to some users, it’s probably going to become available more widely soon.