Discord has released a significant update of its desktop application with focus put on giving users more experiences through newly redesigned interface and feature offering. This comprises the new full dark theme named Onyx that is tailored for use with OLED monitors. It provides another two theme variations as choices free accounts can use, which amounts to four of them: Light, Ash, Dark, and Onyx.
Onyx dark mode is also a part of a greater push towards aligning the desktop experience with that of mobile. Discord also altered the channel list so users can control its appearance, and refined the app’s overall spacing to make it more readable and less visually noisy. The new bar in the calling UI also makes it clear whether or not the microphone and camera are enabled, increasing user sensitivity to voice and video calls.
With these changes in functionality, Discord has overhauled the colors and images across its desktop platform. The goal is to offer consistency between desktop and mobile experiences as well as to make the app more visually appealing.
One of the most significant changes is the new game overlay. The new overlay won’t take a hit on frame rates by directly hooking into a game window, something which previously could trigger anti-cheats and sometimes fail to work. This release offers a more responsive and faster experience, focusing on what matters most to users.
The new overlay consists of single widgets such as those in Microsoft’s Xbox Game Bar or the overlay of Steam. Now users can view Discord streams amidst this overlay, thus making them accessible even during playing games. The widgets are somewhere on the screen, and the overlay has been designed to coexist with more types of games without triggering anti-cheat programs.
Discord’s passion for PC gaming comes through in this update. With over 72% of daily Discord users gaming on PC, the company is dedicated to making everyone’s desktop experience better before, during, and after gaming. Spacing for readability can be adjusted through the new UI density settings, and voice and video controls grouped together for simplified management of these features.
Overall, Discord’s new update is aimed at improving the user experience with more customization, improved performance, and seamless interaction between different features of the app. The inclusion of Onyx dark mode and the revamped overlay are significant features of this update, covering both the aesthetic and functional needs of users.
