While we don't come across the boot animation that often, it still is a part of the core Android experience and needs to match up with wider design choices. A subtle tweak, but with Android 10, even the boot screen of Pixel phones gained a dark background that would automatically be used if the system theme was set to dark mode. Going forward, it might not cycle between the two modes at all.

A new commit submitted to the Android Source Project suggests that this behavior is now being tweaked. While the first boot (initial setup or after a factory reset) will make use of the traditional boot screen with a white background, every subsequent will one in dark mode.

The reason for this change is so scheduled updates, which take place at night and require reboots, will no longer disturb users. We're not sure when this commit will be merged and rolled out to Pixel phones, but owners will no longer have control over the boot animation theme once it happens.

Although minor, this development is appreciated, but I think Google could go even further and use a dark background for the initial boot to cover anyone who goes through the setup process at night.