Recently uncovered hints point to Google Chrome on macOS having native Dark Mode capability soon, but it appears Windows 10 users won't be missing out on the feature after all.
According to previous reports, version 73 of Chrome is going to come with support for macOS 10.14's dark mode, complete with an alternative color scheme, similar to the incognito mode in terms of looks, for the entire user interface. The same kind of support is heading to the Windows version of the browser, although it appears the macOS version will come first.
Google Chrome Dark Mode On Windows
The above tidbit is courtesy of a bug report uncovered by Techdows, revealing that preliminary work has begun to bring the browser's Windows version its very own dark mode. However, unlike the implementation on macOS, Windows-side dark mode apparently has to be forcibly turned on with a command-line switch. Adding "--force-dark-mode" to the command line of current builds of Chrome 73 makes everything dark.
Dark mode for Chrome on macOS has top priority — "P1" — it looks like, so it shouldn't come as a surprise if it goes live first. The Windows implementation is only rated as "P2," which suggests it has lesser importance at the moment. That is certainly an odd setup, as there are more Chrome users on Windows 10 than on macOS.
How To Enable Dark Mode Right Now
For those who are too impatient to wait for the official rollout of dark mode support for Chrome on Windows, it's possible to change it now, albeit with a little bit of tinkering.
• First, download the latest version of Google Chrome Canary, an early-release, experimental version of Chrome on which planned features are typically tested.
• After completing the installation process, right click on the newly created shortcut on the desktop and choose "Properties."
• On the "Shortcut" tab, locate the Target selection, which should have text in. Add "-force-dark-mode" at the last part of the text, without the quotation marks.
• Click apply.
Open Google Chrome Canary and voilà! There's Dark Mode. Again, it's practically similar to Chrome's incognito mode, although they're slightly different in terms of the shades of gray and black.
Google has yet to announce when it will release Dark Mode support for macOS and Windows 10, but they're a relatively minor addition, so it probably won't take too long. In any case, make sure to check back with Tech Times as we learn more.
