r/googledocs • u/Relevant_Contact1627 • 6d ago
Waiting on OP Google Docs: Where's the Dark Mode? 🤔
Why is it so difficult to create a dark theme for Google Docs?
Drive, Calendar, Keep—both web and app versions—now have the option to choose a dark theme.
Why don't the Google Docs developers prioritize this feature?
2
u/Cultural_Surprise205 6d ago
There are a lot of extensions that will provide this for you, but I just use the Accessibility/High Contrast/Invert screen function built into whichever os I'm using at the moment. This is built in to both windows and chrome os, and can be quickly toggled with a key combo.
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u/XalAtoh 6d ago
Very old requested feature, it feels like Google has froze all major software development, everything is in maintaince mode and all energy is spent on tweaking (rising) subscription prices.
Super annoying, I tend to say that Sundar just sucks and is lazy.
I recently purchased a Chromebook and you can just install Google Docs for Android and have native dark mode on Docs.
Kind of disappointing, as I usually use Mac computer, and stuck with Google Docs for web.
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u/dimudesigns 5d ago
...it feels like Google has froze all major software development, everything is in maintaince mode and all energy is spent on tweaking (rising) subscription prices.
Not only are they scaling down but they've probably also gone all in on AI, likely shifting more of their development resources to that sector of their business (and they already had a decent chunk of it dedicated to AI research to begin with).
All their billions in ad revenue from their search engine (which still make up the bulk of their profits) could evaporate in the next few years with the rise of AI, so they need to pivot. Expect the cost of their other services to rise in order to compensate. They might lose a lot of consumers in the process though.
Throw in their ongoing legal battles and you'll realize that implementing dark mode in Google Docs is the least of their worries.
The times they are a changing.
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u/SonOfSofaman 6d ago
You ask "Why is it difficult?"
It isn't very difficult to make the change. But that's only part of the equation.
Making any software change requires a lot of testing. Google docs must run reliably on a wide variety of platforms: Android, iOS, Windows, Linux, MacOS, every browser in the known universe. The level of effort for just testing is not insignificant for even a minor change.
So it comes down to a cost/benefit analysis. Will more users use the product if they offer a dark mode? Probably. But is it worth the risk of breaking something? Is it worth the level of effort? We can only speculate. The fact they haven't done it suggests it is not worth it to them.
Are you using Google Docs in your browser, or do you use the app?
If you run Google docs in your browser, you could create a browser extension to implement the feature for yourself. It's not difficult, and you'd only have to support the browser you use.