Summary
- Google Drive now supports dark mode on the web, improving user experience and reducing strain on the eyes.
- The introduction of dark mode for Drive on the web was a highly requested feature by users.
- Updates to Google Drive also include new search bar and categorization system for mobile users.
With the popularization of AMOLED displays even on the best budget Android phones, system-wide dark mode support could save you some battery life, or at least make the display easier to read in low-light conditions. While most Android apps support dark mode, their web versions still do not, and that’s true for Google Drive as well. However, the company just changed that by announcing dark mode support for the web UI.
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While Gmail for the web supports extensive UI theming and customization, most other Google services support dark mode at the very least. However, Drive has been a notable outlier for a while now. The Drive app for Android can switch to dark mode independently, or simply follow system themes depending on how you’ve configured it, but dark mode support on the web is brand-new, announced in a Google Workspace Updates blog post.
We spotted dark mode for the web back in March, but at the time, it seemed to be a rather limited rollout and Google didn’t make a formal announcement about the feature. However, the UI seems largely unchanged from what we saw at that time, featuring an eclectic mix of black, dark gray, light gray, and Google-colored elements.
Dark theme is rolling out now
In its announcement, Google says the change was highly requested by users, and it should enable additional customizability of the user experience. Since the web UI is changing, there are no updates involved, and it should be a server-side change. Once available, you should see a new Dark mode option under Drive → Settings → Appearance → Dark. Just note that the new setting only affects the file management view, and not independent Workspace apps like Sheets and Docs you access through Drive.
The change comes hot on the heels of other UI changes to Google Drive, including an omnipresent search bar on the web and a new categorization system on mobile. That said, dark mode support for Drive on the web has already started rolling out and Google estimates the rollout could take up to 15 days.
