One UI 8.5 Distorts Dark Mode in Google Apps
A change in Samsung’s color-palette implementation is clashing with Android’s Material You theming and producing harsh gray backgrounds that reduce readability.
Overview
- The stable One UI 8.5 rollout, which expanded on Monday, has prompted a wave of user reports that dark mode in Google apps now shows inconsistent gray tones and high-contrast elements.
- Affected apps named by users include Gmail, Google Messages, Google Fi, and Google Keep, where pitch-black elements sit beside a bright, sickly gray that makes text harder to read.
- Reports cluster on recent flagship models such as the Galaxy S25 and S24 but are not universal, with examples like the Galaxy Z Fold 7 showing normal dark-mode colors when a different color-palette setting is used.
- Coverage and user analysis point to a theme-engine clash: One UI’s color-palette defaults appear to interact badly with Android’s Material You/Material Expressive styling, which changes app tints based on wallpaper.
- Samsung has not publicly acknowledged or released a fix and some users shared advanced workarounds that use ADB or Shizuku, while a separate May 26 report adds that an overlay-triggered contrast shift in video playback has also emerged for some devices.