What you need to know
- Google is apparently tweaking Search’s dark mode with a subtle blue tint instead of the usual dark gray.
- The new look boosts contrast, making text easier to read, especially in low light.
- The Google app for Android is also testing it, but only in the latest beta version.
Google is tinkering with a new shade for its dark theme in Search, giving it a subtle color twist. It’s not exactly in-your-face, but more like a quiet refresh that might fly under the radar for most.
According to 9to5Google, the new look swaps the usual dark gray for a richer, more vibrant blue. It’s a small but noticeable tweak, showing Google is always fine-tuning things to make Search easier on the eyes, especially in low-light settings.
It’s unclear exactly when this new look rolled out, as per 9to5, but it might’ve been quietly live for a while—maybe even a few weeks.
Right now, Google Search and the Android app use a dark gray theme, and while it gets the job done, some folks find it a bit dull. To spice things up, Google’s experiment is a richer, bolder blue theme that’s noticeably deeper and more vibrant than the current one.
The switch to this new color scheme amps up the contrast between text and background, making things easier to read.
Spotting this change might be tricky. The current dark theme is mostly dark gray, while the new version shifts ever so slightly toward a faint blue tint. Luckily, 9to5Google shared some side-by-side visuals that highlight the tiny but noticeable difference between the two.
If you’re not spotting the new theme yet, here’s a hack: log out of your account and hop into Incognito mode.
The new dark blue theme is also popping up in the Google app for Android, but only for those rocking the latest beta version. It gives the Home and Search tabs a fresh background color, which tweaks how your search results look in the app.
In the Google app, the blue dark theme isn’t just about the background—it’s also giving the search bar and bottom navigation bar a lighter blue makeover, creating a cool contrast with the darker backdrop. But not everything has caught up yet; spots like the ‘Saved’ and ‘Notifications’ sections are still rocking the old gray look.