Dark mode was already an option in Android 10, but users had to manually flick it on and off. Now a Googler has confirmed that the scheduling function will be included in a future Android update.
The confirmation was first spotted by XDA-developers on Google Issue Tracker, and has Android users crossing their fingers that they’ll be gifted the feature in the near future.
Related: Here are the apps you need to try in dark mode
You could actually find a version of this scheduling feature in the beta version of Android 10. When it was first released, users could program dark mode to switch on and off according to the time of day. This was a nice little vision saver for tired eyes at bedtime; the screen was bright in the day, and darker at night, and it would switch between the two depending on when the sun rose and set each day.
However, this disappeared when Google rolled out the stable version of Android 10, leaving users scratching their heads as to why the popular setting had been dropped.
Related: This is what’s new with Android 10
Speaking with users in an AMA reddit thread, a Google staffer said: “There are a few reasons why this is deprecated (not removed) in AppCompat v1.1.0: it requires apps to request location permissions to be accurate, and even with a valid location the sunrise/sunset time calculations can be buggy.”
The staffer also went on to explain that calculating sunset/ sunrises times “are notoriously difficult, especially for locations close to north/south poles.”
It looks like the issues are resolved now and according to that Google Issue Tracker thread “it will become available in a future Android release.”
However, there’s no confirmation on when this will be released, so we’ll have to keep manually flicking on dark mode for now.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
