In a surprising twist of events, the much hyped and much talked about Night Mode and Dark Them will most likely be shelved for now in the upcoming Android N release. During Google I/O, Dan Sandler was reported as saying that the night mode and dark theme’s performance was not up to mark and they did not meet the standards that Google has put into place for features in this release. As such, according to Dan, these features might be given a passover when the release ready version of Android N is shipped later in the year.

Though the Android N Developer Preview 3 saw the night mode and dark theme virtually disappear, they still are accessible through quick settings, the reason behind this disappearing act is no longer a mystery. Though there is no definite answer as to whether the feature will be removed completely, going with what Dan Sandler has said and with what the Developer Preview 3 has shown, there is considerable to motive to assume that this feature is getting the boot.

To further cement this point, Sandler and other Googlers have subsequently highlighted the disclaimer that is displayed when the UI tuner is launched for the first time — that the night mode and dark themes [sic] were subject to change or removal at any time.

The displeasure over the dark theme was due to the lack of consistency in the look of the theme as it was applied across all parts of the OS and every app. As for the night mode, Sandler stated that the way the colour shifts to adjust the tint and brightness was implemented in a way that was not that great. Furthermore, performance was sub-par as it relied on the accessibility feature of the OS — feature that is deemed to be substandard and slow.

Now wether night mode and dark theme are set to return to the Android scene remains questionable, however, given the level of interest and energy Google has spent on this endeavour, there is a probability that we have not heard the last of it. What do you think? Do you think there is a possibility that this feature might be in the next Android build? Is this the end of the night mode and dark theme efforts by Google? Let us know in the comments below!