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Google Search dark theme goes fully black for some on the web

To date, Google’s dark themes have been more gray than the pitch/AMOLED black preferred by some. Google is now testing a completely black dark theme for Search on desktop web.

Instead of dark gray, the background of Search result pages switches to #000000. Other colors for links and previously visited pages are similarly tweaked to be slightly bolder and less muted.

For those with this A/B test, the google.com homepage is unchanged and still uses light gray, while the quick settings panel refers to this new black as just a “Dark theme.”

Visually, Google’s gray theme is better for being less jarring, especially when navigating to inevitably light web pages. If Google Search decides to use black, the company will hopefully retain the old dark theme as a user-selectable option.

This change has been appearing for some, but not all, users in recent days. In fact, the first people to receive the theme have already lost it. The rollout does not appear to be specific to any operating system.

Be sure to tell us which version you prefer in the comments below

Thanks Sir Henry and Michael!

Dylan Roussel contributed to this article

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Avatar for Abner Li Abner Li

Editor-in-chief. Interested in the minutiae of Google and Alphabet. Tips/talk: abner@9to5g.com

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