Google app web browser adds Auto Dark Mode on iPhone

After testing last year, Google app on iOS has rolled out an Auto Dark Mode for its built-in web browser.

The Google app on iPhone opens pages from Search results and the Discover feed in its own browser. There’s an address bar, tab grid system, and convenient “Read Aloud” text-to-speech (TTS) feature.

The latest addition is Auto Dark Mode for websites that have yet to add their own design. Tap the three-dot overflow menu in the top-right corner for “Turn on Auto Dark Mode” at the bottom. It’s persistent and can be easily toggled off.

Google notes that “Quality of sites may vary,” but it’s been in testing since June through Search Labs and the results have been pretty good in our experience. (If you’re already enrolled, manually leave to get the stable experience.)

Auto Dark Mode is live with version 354.0 of the Google app on iOS.

Google’s dark mode vs. our native experience

In other changes, the Google app on iOS is removing its built-in Gemini chat experience. Since last year, a tab switcher at the top has let you choose between “Search” and “Gemini.” 

Since the Gemini iPhone app launched in November, Google has been encouraging users to download the dedicated offering. There was previously a “No thanks” option to ignore that splashscreen and continue using the old experience. That’s no longer the case as of today.

The Gemini UI inside the Google app had not been updated since launch and lagged compared to the full client, which lets you access Gemini Live and other models.