TechnologyGmail's dark mode is coming to Android phones. Turn it on now

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Derek Poore/CNET

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In Android 10, you can now apply a dark theme to Gmail.

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In Android 10, you can now apply a dark theme to Gmail. Google. Screenshot Clifford Colby/CNET

With Android 10, Google lets you apply a systemwide dark theme across its new mobile Android OS, and you can easily turn it on in individual Google apps on your phone as well, from Calculator and Calendar to YouTube. But Google doesn't let you apply it everywhere, and a few popular apps -- including Chrome -- lack a dark-mode setting. Gmail  has been one of them, but it's no longer a holdout, as Google has started to roll out a dark-mode setting for Gmail on Android 10. Google is pushing the update out slowly, so it's not available to everyone yet.

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Dark mode is increasingly in demand. Before Android took it on, the popularity of dark modes for apps was already growing, for Facebook Messenger and the Slack and Reddit apps, for example. And Apple's also following the dark mode trend, as iPhones and iPads will also get a dark theme with the release of iOS 13 this month.

With dark mode, you can conserve a bit of battery life and your phone's screen will be easier on your eyes at night. Google first added dark mode to an Android Pie update earlier this year, but the theme didn't show up everywhere. In Android 10, dark mode is much more widespread, and apps that use the default system theme will automatically adopt the new dark mode when you turn it on, inverting dark and light colors.

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Not all of Google's apps use the system default theme automatically. Along with Gmail, you'll need to turn on dark mode in Calendar, for example, and YouTube. Here's how to turn it on in Gmail on Android 10.

Turn on the Gmail dark mode setting in Android 10

While many of Google's Android apps will adopt a dark theme when you turn it on in overall settings, you need to flip it on separately in Gmail.

1. In the Gmail app on your phone, tap the hamburger menu in the top left.

2. Scroll to the bottom of the list, and tap Settings.

3. Tap General Settings.

4. At the top of the list, tap Theme.

5. Tap Dark or, if you've already set the dark theme as your system default, tap System default.

Set dark theme as the system default in Android 10

For those apps that automatically adopt the default system, here's how to turn on the dark theme.

1. In Settings, tap Display.

2. Near the bottom of the list of settings, toggle on Dark theme.

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You can do more with Gmail than just change how it looks, of course. You can keep spammers from tracking you, for example, and unsend messages to avoid regret.

Android 10 beta's best new tricks from Google I/O 2019

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Android 10 is the next version of Google's operating system. At Google I/O, the company announced the third version of its beta software, which you can download on 21 different phones.

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With Android 10, which used to be Android Q, Google is focusing in large part on privacy, giving Android owners finer control over what data they share and creating stricter limits on what information apps can ask for. It also includes small but useful changes to its interface and controls.

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A really neat feature for Android 10, live captioning will transcribe the audio from any video into text.

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Touch the volume rocker up or down and tap the icon below the volume controls to toggle Live Captions on and off.

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One of our favorite new features gets rid of the dreaded back button from Android Pie. It felt out of place while the other controls focused on gestures. You can swipe either left or right to go back.

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Touch the volume rocker up or down and tap the icon below the volume controls to toggle Live Captions on and off.

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We had seen dark mode before, but now Dark Theme covers more of the OS.

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One way to turn it on is to tap Battery Saver in the quick access controls.

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Dark Theme forever.

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You can also turn it on through the Display settings.

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The Dark device theme from Android Pie seems to be gone in Android 10, but you can still turn on dark mode by tricking the system into using it through Battery Saver settings. Android 10 applies dark mode across more of the system, including in settings.

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Turn on Battery Saver based on your routine, and Android 10 switches to Battery Saver if your phone is likely to run out before you typically plug in.

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Android 10 shows what's left in your battery as a percent to the right of the battery icon.

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When your phone's unplugged, swipe down from the status bar to view an estimate of how long your battery will last.

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Android 10's Wi-Fi data usage window (right) has a different look than Android Pie (left).

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Hate those silent notification icons cluttering your status bar? Me too. In Android 10 you can hide them.

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In Android 10, you can long-press a notification to see more descriptive choices for dealing with it.

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Unlike in Pie, you can't swipe to either side to dismiss a notification to Android 10. Swipe to the right to dismiss it. To the left to view options for dealing with it.

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View more useful notifications on the lock screen, such an audio track playing or expected arrival time.

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It's a small thing, but the icon you press after entering your passcode is a blue arrow, not a check mark.

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Press and hold the power button -- with the phone locked or unlocked -- to bring up an emergency shortcut below the Power off, Restart and Screenshot buttons.

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You can already remove an app icon from the home screen by dragging it to the top. Now, a message appears at the bottom of the screen, asking if you want to undo that action.

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For Android 10, recent windows have rounded corners (left). They are square in Android Pie (right).

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Android 10 will ease make sharing easier, via shortcuts that offer a preview of content you want to share.

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Android 10 includes Wi-Fi Easy Connect, which lets you share and join Wi-Fi networks by scanning a QR code.

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In Accessibility settings, you can set how much time you want to read and then take action on a message before it goes away.

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Android 10 gives you finer control over when an app can access your location. Allow all the time, Allow only when the app is in use, or Deny. The App info window also gets an Open button to go with the Uninstall/Disable and Force stop buttons.

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Android Q's final shipping date is coming up soon!

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Originally published earlier this week. Updated with details about rollout.