Which Android version introduced system-wide dark theme?

Android 10 introduced Android’s system-wide dark theme.

Released in 2019, Android 10 added a dark theme that could change the appearance of the system user interface and participating apps. Users could enable it through system settings, Quick Settings, or—in supported cases—Battery Saver. The feature was designed to reduce glare in low-light environments and could reduce power use on some screen technologies.

Android 10 also introduced Force Dark, which could dynamically apply a dark appearance to apps that had not implemented a dedicated dark theme. Apps with their own theme support could instead use tools such as DayNight to provide more deliberate color and contrast choices.

Earlier Android versions and individual apps already offered dark interfaces, so Android 10 did not invent dark mode everywhere. Its milestone was making dark appearance a platform-level system setting. Android 11 and later refined the experience, but they did not change which release first introduced the system-wide theme.