Google app 10.49 preps Android 10 Assistant gesture tutorial, Driving Mode dark theme [APK Insight]

After missing the typical Friday release, the latest Google app beta is rolling out this evening. Google app 10.49 reveals work on a tutorial that explains how to launch Assistant with Android 10’s new gesture navigation, while Assistant Driving Mode might gain a dark mode.

About APK Insight: In this ‘APK Insight’ post, we’ve decompiled the latest version of an application that Google uploaded to the Play Store. When we decompile these files (called APKs, in the case of Android apps), we’re able to see various lines of code within that hint at possible future features. Keep in mind that Google may or may not ever ship these features, and our interpretation of what they are may be imperfect. We’ll try to enable those that are closer to being finished, however, to show you how they’ll look in the case that they do ship. With that in mind, read on.

Android 10 Assistant gesture tutorial
With Android 10’s upcoming launch, gesture navigation will be one of the biggest user-facing changes. The Google app is readying a tutorial on how to launch Assistant, and version 10.49 reveals the accompanying animation. It simply shows a finger swiping diagonally from the bottom-corner until the four-color light strip appears. At this point, you can start your voice command.

It’s unclear when exactly and how this prompt will appear to users.
Assistant Driving Mode dark mode
At I/O 2019, Google announced that Android Auto on phones will be replaced by Assistant Driving Mode. Google app 10.49 suggests that this upcoming experience — codenamed “Morris” — will feature a dark mode. A file name references “Morris_Nightmode” and the asset shows Driving Mode being used in the dark and a matching interface.

Meanwhile, the dark mode for the full Assistant and Google Search is still in development, with this release tweaking the settings to turn it on.