Earlier this month, we saw signs of a dark mode on Google Maps for Android. The company has now started rolling out the long-awaited feature for some users having the latest version of Google Maps.
As you can see in the image below, Google Maps is indeed rolling out the dark theme along with support for the map interface. The UI elements have gained a mix of different shades of gray. From the image, it is evident that the implementation is quite neat and pleasing to the eyes while preserving much-needed details.
According to user reports on Reddit, Google Maps is gaining dark mode along with a dedicated option to change the UI to light, dark, or respect Android’s system-wide theme. You can access this option from ‘Appearance’ in Maps’ settings. Do note that changing this doesn’t affect the theme of the navigation interface.
The Reddit user received the dark mode feature on Google Maps version 10.51.1 through a server-side change. In typical Google fashion, the dark mode for Maps is getting a limited phased rollout. In other words, you may not be seeing the dark mode in your Maps app just yet, even if you’ve installed the latest version of the app.
When I checked on my phone having Google Maps version 10.51.1, the dark mode option was not available. Let us know if it is live for you in the comments. To increase the chances, we would recommend updating to the latest version of Maps available on the Play Store. Given that the company is already rolling out the feature, at least for some users, we could expect an official announcement soon.
Download Google Maps from the Play Store (Free)