What you need to know
- We now have our best look at Google's Pixel Themes app.
- Pixel Themes is part of a new "Styles & wallpapers" setting for the Pixel Launcher.
- It allows you to customize the font, quick settings icons, accent color, and app icon shape.
Earlier this month, leaked screenshots of Google's new Pixel Themes app surfaced online. We first heard about Pixel Themes during the Android 10 beta, and it's been expected that this will be a new theming engine for Pixel phones. Now, 9to5Google has shared a full hands-on look at Pixel Themes.
To access Pixel Themes, you'll press and hold on the home screen of the Pixel Launcher and tap the new "Styles & wallpapers" option that's replacing the previous "Wallpapers" one. This bring you to a page where you'll select a theme for your phone, and while it's expected that Google will offer some pre-made themes out of the box, only the Default one is present in this leaked build. However, if you don't like any of the styles Google provides, you can make your own custom setup, too.
As 9to5Google shows off, creating a custom theme goes through a series of tweaks you can make. In order, these include the system font, icon design for the quick settings and status bar, accent color, and app icon shape. Once you've selected everything you want, you can give your custom theme a name and apply it to your phone.
The previous Pixel Themes leak we saw also showed the ability to customize the launcher grid size and clock for the lock screen/always-on-display, but those two options aren't visible in this hands-on. In the final version of Pixel Themes we see later in October, that'll likely change.
Similarly, the Wallpapers app is also getting a visual upgrade with the Pixel 4. The layout is mostly the same, with all of the wallpapers featured in various categories for your choosing, but it now has an updated Material Theme UI and supports Android 10's Dark Mode.
While Pixel Themes and the new Wallpapers app will likely debut on the Pixel 4, Google should bring them over to older Pixel phones with a software update soon after.
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