Chrome OS finally has a dark mode, and you can try it right now

Acer Chromebook Spin 311
Acer Chromebook Spin 311 (Image credit: Ara Wagoner / Android Central)

What you need to know

  • Dark mode has been a feature that Chrome OS users have been demanding for quite some time.
  • Chrome OS dark theme is available now through the Flags menu on the Canary channel.
  • The feature is still in early development, so it's unclear when it'll come to the Stable channel.

While Windows and macOS users have been enjoying their flavors of dark mode for quite some time now, Chrome OS users have sadly been missing out on the fun. However, thanks to a recent sighting by Android Police on the Chrome OS Canary channel, it looks like Chrome OS users can now join in on the dark mode hype train.

We reported back in September that Google has been internally working on proper dark and light themes for Chrome OS. The system-wide feature is still in its early development stages and is not officially ready to come to the Stable channel yet, but if you have a Chromebook and are itching to start using the upcoming feature today, you can do just that by going into the Flags menu on Chrome.

Simply open Chrome on your Chomebook, and then copy and paste chrome://flags/#enable-force-dark and chrome://flags/#enable-webui-dark-mode into the URL bar, where you can turn on both flags in the drop-down menu.

Although the feature isn't fully ready and definitely has some bugs to squash, it already works on the Chrome browser and a bunch of different system web apps. The dark theme already seems to be a pretty comprehensive feature so far as it not only applies to the app backgrounds, but seems to apply to other UI elements as well.

Dark mode has been in high demand for any OS over the past few years for its benefits on eye strain and general readability. Even if you're not a fan of dark mode, you have to admit it's always refreshing getting to try a new look on your current device.

If you're a Chrome OS user, let us know down in the comments if you'll be using dark mode from now on, or if you're just going to wait for the Stable release. For those of you in the market for a new Chromebook, make sure you know what the best Chromebooks are right now.

Pixelbook Go

Google Pixelbook Go

The Google Pixelbook Go has a minimal lightweight design, a fantastic keyboard and trackpad combo, and great battery life. If you're looking for the perfect Chromebook, the Google Pixelbook Go is definitely the way to Go.

Ho Young Won
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