Android 12: in-depth theming system that can recolor apps

With Android 10, Google introduced a dedicated dark mode to reduce eye strain and just look cooler. For Android 12, Google is working hard to bring a much more in-depth theme system that can recolor supported apps.

Today, on Google’s Pixel phones, you have the option of selecting one of the few colors to use as an accent in a handful of places like the Quick Settings tiles and the brightness slider. Beyond that, the main way to customize your phone’s colors is to switch between light and dark theme.

According to information seen by 9to5Google, Android 12 is working to bring a native theme system, which allows you to select a primary color and an accent color, and see those colors reflected in Android – where this is supported, more on that in one. little. The primary color you choose should even affect things like the background color of notifications and the Quick Settings area.

We have designed approximate model pictures showing what it is could seems to have a theme enabled. In the first mockup, I borrowed the blue “Dim” hue from Twitter for Android and combined it with the “Space” accent color from the Pixel. In the second mockup, I used colors from a green Material Design color palette.

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The actual colors you get to choose from will vary from brand to brand and maybe even model to model, as each phone manufacturer will likely have their own sets of colors. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be an option to create your own unique color scheme or to install one through the Play Store.

What really makes Android 12’s theme system special, however, is that your chosen main and accent theme colors will be available to Android app developers as well. This means that if their developers wish, your favorite Android apps can better match the theme your phone chooses.

In comparison, apps designed for Android 10+ just know if you’re in light or dark mode and can adapt to anything the app considers a dark theme. However, dark mode is a very subjective issue, with many having different opinions on the best scheme. Some prefer a dark gray or even dark blue base, while others dispute that true “AMOLED black” is the only correct dark theme.

Instead of developers needing to design multiple color schemes to suit their customers, individuals can choose their own color scheme and potentially enforce it by applications. This deeper level of customization that can affect third-party apps, like Android 12, seems to bring a previously needed rooted device and Substratum, a community-built theming system.

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A key difference between the theme of Android 12 and Substratum is that Substratum forces individual apps in a particular appearance, while Android 12 only does offers your selected theme colors to apps as part of the Android API.

Interestingly, the colors of your Android 12 theme should also be able to be automatically chosen based on your current wallpaper. When you change your wallpaper, Android should be able to seamlessly switch to new colors similar to your wallpaper color scheme.

As Android 12 is still in the early stages of development, there is still an opportunity for Google to remove this new theme system before it launches later this year. We’ll likely learn more once we get our hands on the Android 12 Developer Preview, which could happen as early as next month.

Dylan Roussel contributed to this article

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