Samsung’s latest One UI 8.5 update is quietly changing the look of dark mode on Galaxy phones. But not everyone seems happy about it.
Over the past few days, some Galaxy users have noticed that certain apps, particularly Google apps, now appear with lighter grey backgrounds instead of the darker tones Samsung typically used before. The change arrived alongside the stable rollout of One UI 8.5.
At first glance, it looked like Samsung had simply redesigned dark mode entirely. But the situation is a bit messier than that.
Interestingly, the new look does not appear consistently across every Galaxy device running One UI 8.5. Some users are seeing noticeably lighter shades in apps like Gmail and Google Photos, while others still have the deeper black and dark-grey tones Samsung fans are used to.
The reason seems to come down to Samsung’s handling of Material You theming, known as the “Colour Palette” feature in One UI. According to reports, Samsung has adjusted the default palette behaviour in One UI 8.5. As a result, the system applies dark mode colours differently throughout the OS and inside supported apps.
If you enable Material You colours, Samsung and Google apps still maintain a fairly consistent dark mode look. But if users turn off those dynamic colour themes, some apps reportedly switch to a lighter grey appearance instead.
It’s a small visual tweak, but one that people immediately noticed — mostly because dark mode users tend to be very particular about exactly how “dark” dark mode should look. Samsung previously sat somewhere between Google’s softer grey-heavy approach and Apple’s near pitch-black OLED-friendly design. Many Galaxy users had grown to like this.
The reaction online has been pretty mixed so far. Some users do not mind the softer grey tones, while others think it makes apps look washed out compared to previous One UI versions.
The good news is that Samsung does not appear to have permanently locked in this design choice. Users who customise their Colour Palette settings can still get darker-looking apps back in many cases with a little tweaking.
One UI 8.5 is currently rolling out globally across supported Galaxy devices in phases.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Some Galaxy users noticed certain apps, particularly Google apps like Gmail and Google Photos, now appear with lighter grey backgrounds instead of the darker tones Samsung typically used before.
No. It does not appear consistently across every Galaxy device running One UI 8.5; some users see lighter shades while others still have the deeper black and dark-grey tones.
It comes down to Samsung's handling of Material You theming, the Colour Palette feature. Samsung adjusted the default palette behaviour in One UI 8.5, so the system applies dark mode colours differently.
If you enable Material You colours, Samsung and Google apps still maintain a fairly consistent dark mode.
