Android Auto’s Light Theme Looks Like It’s Almost Ready To Hit The Road

All design is cyclical. Whether you’re talking about fashion, home decor, or, yes, even software, it’s easy to see how trends shift and change over time. And after years of dark mode demands — most of which were eventually met by devs and OEMs alike — it seems like bright, lighter colors are back in vogue. And just like with dark mode, it’s taken some dark-only UIs to catch up to the shift. Long after its most recent refresh, Google is closer than ever to bringing light mode back to Android Auto, and it’s looking pretty slick.

AssembleDebug, writing for Android Authority, was able to manually activate Google’s current iteration of light mode in Android Auto, and it’s looking far more ready to roll out than our first preview more than two years ago. That’s right — it’s been two entire years since one particularly observant Reddit user managed to spot the theme. At the time, Auto’s light mode was rough around the edges, and I mean that quite literally. With black outlines and jagged edges, it looked more like a user-made mod or a proof of concept than a functioning theme.

While today’s screengrabs aren’t quite ready for your car’s dashboard, it’s clear Google’s made a lot of progress on this front. Apps like YouTube Music look great, Material You elements are scattered throughout the UI as you’d expect, and the space surrounding each app display is no longer an awkward black frame. The few odd elements that do remain, including some strange corners around the top taskbar, seem like minor complaints, and might even result from the ultra-wide aspect ratio used for these screenshots.

Dark mode might be easier on the eyes, but light mode is easier in the sun

And frankly, I’m happy to see it returning

As much as I love Android Auto, I can’t deny that some refreshed themes could do it some good. The system-wide dark elements are excellent for nighttime driving, when it’s, you know, dark outside. But during the day, I occasionally find Auto’s UI to be a little too difficult to see, especially in particularly bright situations when the sun’s spot in the sky might be an inconvenience. It’s probably why Apple added a light mode to CarPlay all the way back in 2019, the very same year Google removed light mode from Auto.

I’d be a little more into dark mode in Auto if my vehicle was rocking an OLED display, but alas, it’s just your typical run-of-the-mill LCD panel. I’ll certainly be trying this out if and when it eventually rolls out to users, especially if Auto can now match your theme to the time of day for relaxed night driving. Based on how finished these images look, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see an announcement at or around Google I/O in just a few weeks, hopefully with a rollout not long after.