Android 10: Getting Started With The Best New Features

Go dark and start swiping.

- Michael Simon

When you first start using Android 10, it won’t look all that different from version 9. In fact, the biggest change you’re going to encounter is that it doesn’t have a tasty dessert moniker attached to it (go.pcworld.com/mnkr). But even without any radical new features, Android “Don’t Call It Q” charts a whole new path for the OS, with new ways to navigate, customize, and secure your phone. So if you can’t find anything new, you’re just looking in the wrong places. Here are all the best new features in Android 10 and how to start using them.

DARK THEME

Possibly the most highly anticipated new feature in Android 10 is a simple one: dark mode. Called Dark theme, it flips many of the elements in stock Google apps from blinding white to black or dark gray. However, it’s a little scattered, with some apps turning automatically, while others have their own internal switches. Here’s how it breaks down:

Dark theme-ready

• Notification shade

• Google search widget

• Chrome • Contacts

• Drive

• Files

• Google Pay

• Keep Notes

• Photos

• Play Games

• Settings

Separate dark mode available in app settings

• Calculator

• Messages

Always dark

• Clock

• Play Movies

Not ready for dark theme

• Gmail

• Google

• Home

• Maps

• News