Google Maps is finally getting a proper dark mode

This story was originally published 2020/09/29
9:55am PDTon Sep 29, 2020 and last updated 2021/02/23
9:01am PSTon Feb 23, 2021. 

Google has been teasing a dark theme for Maps for over a year now, and it even briefly rolled out to a few people, but it was never properly formalized or acknowledged officially. That’s changing today, as Google has just finally announced that dark mode is now rolling out to everyone.

The wait for the dark mode was worth it. It’s well executed and makes it easy to make out streets and houses, losing little to no clarity compared to the light theme. That’s essential for a navigation app and might be the reason why it took this long, though the night/tunnel visuals in the navigation interface could’ve probably served as a good template.

All other interface elements are also available in shades of gray, and almost all bright accent colors have been switched for more muted pastels. A toggle has been added to settings that allows you to use Maps in dark mode at all times (or never), if you prefer. Here are more screenshots of it in action and with various layers.

After some code surfaced that pointed to traces of dark mode in version 10.50 of the app, we got our first look at a proper, finished night-compatible theme in version 10.51.1 in September. That limited server-side update only affected a few users and vanished pretty quickly. We then didn’t hear a peep about Maps dark mode until November 2020, when our tipster Bubu told us he got it on v10.56.1 (APK Mirror). A couple of Twitter users also shared the news, so it seemed like the feature was spreading, but it never really made it onto many phones — until today’s official announcement by Google.

The dark theme comes as a server-side switch, so installing the latest version of Maps won’t get you there. It’s still a good idea to stay up-to-date, as it might help you get in on the new interface faster. You can download the latest release from the Play Store or get it over at APK Mirror.

• Thanks:
• Guilherme Vier,
• Ramit Suri,
• Armando,
• Bubu