Photo: autoevolution
You’d normally expect a Google app to run flawlessly on a Google phone, but it doesn’t seem to be the case with Google Maps and Pixel smartphones.
Several users have noticed that when Google Maps uses the dark mode, it flashes the light theme for less than a second before eventually returning to the dark mode once again.
That happens mostly before beginning the navigation. While everything works properly after that, the screen flash that happens for a fraction of a second isn’t necessarily the type of experience you’d typically expect from the world’s number one navigation app.
Users in this reddit thread have confirmed the whole thing happens on various Pixel models, including the 3a, the 3a XL, the 4a, and the 4 XL. The Pixel 5 also seems to be affected, according to several users.
Interestingly, someone says that a similar Google Maps glitch also occurs on other Android phone models, including the OnePlus 7 Pro. Still, at this point, we can’t confirm this, and the problem still seems to be more widespread on the Google Pixel series.
No workaround is known to exist, and even worse is that Google itself has so far remained completely tight-lipped on what exactly happens and when we could finally get a fix. In addition, the latest beta build of Google Maps also doesn’t seem to make any difference and bring things back to normal.
Someone suggests that simply setting Google Maps to follow the system theme eliminates the screen flashes, though this doesn’t seem to be working for everybody.
Google Maps has recently been updated with a full dark mode on Android devices that switches the entire UI to this new visual style, including the map itself. You can find the full instructions on how to activate the dark mode on Android in our step-by-step guide. There’s no ETA as to when this feature could land on iPhones.
That happens mostly before beginning the navigation. While everything works properly after that, the screen flash that happens for a fraction of a second isn’t necessarily the type of experience you’d typically expect from the world’s number one navigation app.
Users in this reddit thread have confirmed the whole thing happens on various Pixel models, including the 3a, the 3a XL, the 4a, and the 4 XL. The Pixel 5 also seems to be affected, according to several users.
Interestingly, someone says that a similar Google Maps glitch also occurs on other Android phone models, including the OnePlus 7 Pro. Still, at this point, we can’t confirm this, and the problem still seems to be more widespread on the Google Pixel series.
No workaround is known to exist, and even worse is that Google itself has so far remained completely tight-lipped on what exactly happens and when we could finally get a fix. In addition, the latest beta build of Google Maps also doesn’t seem to make any difference and bring things back to normal.
Someone suggests that simply setting Google Maps to follow the system theme eliminates the screen flashes, though this doesn’t seem to be working for everybody.
Google Maps has recently been updated with a full dark mode on Android devices that switches the entire UI to this new visual style, including the map itself. You can find the full instructions on how to activate the dark mode on Android in our step-by-step guide. There’s no ETA as to when this feature could land on iPhones.
Google News