Android 15’s Super-Charged Dark Mode: Forcing Incompatible Apps to Embrace the Dark Side

TL;DR: Android 15 may introduce a ‘make all apps dark’ feature that forces dark mode on incompatible apps, offering better compatibility than current workarounds.

Android 15 may introduce a feature that compels all apps to adopt dark mode, even if they don’t officially support it. Mishaal Rahman at Android Authority discovered the ‘make all apps dark’ feature in the Android 15 beta code.

The Power of Dark Mode

Dark mode, introduced in Android 10 in 2019, transforms your device’s layout, backgrounds, and notifications from the default white to darker colours. This makes viewing your screen easier on the eyes, especially when browsing your phone at night. Some users, myself included, simply prefer the aesthetics of dark mode and find it more readable.

Not All Apps Play Nice

However, not all apps support dark mode. Popular apps like Amazon, Fitbit, and some banking apps, to name a few, don’t offer native dark mode support. These unsupported apps typically need their own dark mode that aligns with your device’s overall theme.

Workarounds and Limitations

Currently, if you want to force apps into dark mode, you can enable developer options on your device and select ‘Override force-dark’ or install third-party apps like DarQ. However, these methods can sometimes break the UI on certain apps or not work properly.

The existing ‘override force-dark’ mode allows developers to quickly enable a basic dark theme or test their apps’ appearance with a dark mode. However, developers can opt out of this setting, rendering the override force-dark option ineffective.

A New Hope: ‘Make All Apps Dark’

The new ‘make all apps dark’ feature in the Android 15 beta code reportedly works more effectively and is compatible with a broader range of apps, eliminating the need for specific dark theme apps.

It’s believed to employ a different algorithm to switch your device to dark mode and includes other improvements to ensure wider compatibility with apps.

Embrace the darkness.