It’s safe to say that we’ve been waiting for WhatsApp to roll out Dark Mode for… well, for ages. All the signs point towards Dark Mode being a thing rather soon, as the newest WhatsApp beta has more darkness than ever before.
Hello darkness, my new friend
The folks over at Android Police were the first to spot the new endarkened sections of the popular messaging app. The changes are visible in the current WhatsApp beta (v2.19.331 — there’s an APK download at the link above, if you’re feeling impatient). The splash screen and home-screen widget have been responding to Android 9 or 10 (if you’re overseas) being set to Dark Mode for a while — the newest section to be added is the chat wallpaper. Why the rest of the app hasn’t rolled out darker options yet is anyone’s guess.
And in this corner…
Also seen in the app update? Facebook’s branding on the WhatsApp splash screen (as seen in the header image above). This is another change that we’ve seen coming and it’s in line with what Facebook has planned for its branding. How the rest of that plan works out, though, remains to be seen. We still reckon Facebook’s setting itself up to be split apart by regulators if it consolidates its three largest information-gathering platforms into one mega-service. Or we’re looking at the first cyberpunk megacorp. Either way, it should be entertaining to watch.
Source/Header image: Android Police