Widgets (like calendar) are now a low contrast grey instead of 'dark' in dark mode

You refer to widgets - yet the link that you reference appears to concern App icons. Perhaps your issue is more broadly with the new Liquid Glass appearance, this being introduced across Apple's 26.x Operating Systems. The settings that change the relative appearance of Liquid Glass effects are independent of Light and Dark mode settings.

iOS/iPadOS 26.1 introduced a new setting that subtly charges the appearance of Liquid Glass:

Settings > Display & Brightness > Liquid Glass - select Clear or Tinted

For iPad, this new setting makes very little difference for those that struggle with both the appearance and overlapping screen elements introduced with Liquid Glass. While iOS for iPhone and iPadOS for iPad are closely related, some features can have substantial differences in how they appear on related devices.

If you are experiencing difficulty with the new Liquid Glass UI, there are other settings that can significantly improve the appearance and suppress the majority of unwanted effects:

1. Settings > Accessibility > [Vision] Display & Text Size > Reduce Transparency - set to ON
2. Settings > Accessibility > [Vision] Display & Text Size > Increase Contrast - set to ON
3. Settings > Accessibility > [Motion] Reduce Motion - set to ON

Each if these settings can be used individually, or in combination. Setting Reduce Transparency alone (1) will likely suppress the majority of your issues. The Reduce Motion setting (3), if used, will eliminate the "lensing" effects of the Liquid Glass UI. Experiment; you should find a combination that works for you.

I suggest that you begin with setting Reduce Transparency to ON - and then, if needed, experiment with additional use of one or more of the other options.

NB: The new Display & Brightness > Liquid Glass setting can only be changed/toggled while Reduce Transparency is set to OFF. You might find that setting Liquid Glass to Clear, prior to enabling Reduced Transparency to ON, may give the best result.

I'm sorry if my attempt to provide pertinent information repeated some of the information that was spread between multiple responses of the thread that you initially referenced.

However, given the sarcasm received in response to my attempt to explore possible solutions to your potential difficulty, I decline to explore this further. As such I wish you well in finding a solution.

When seeking help from senior contributors here, perhaps consider that we often expend considerable time and effort in researching both an OPs difficulties and a potential solution. Civility on your part will go a considerable distance in receiving the help that you seek.

-LP

There is a way to make Widgets dark, at least on the Mac. Settings > Appearance > Icon & Widget style. BUT this setting also turns dock icons dark which makes them really hard to see and differentiate. So until they permit darkening widgets and icons separately, I am living with the grey widgets on my Mac desktop. I personally extremely dislike some of the new appearances in Tahoe: liquid glass and rounded edge windows and only a tiny corner area to grab. It seems like someone thought Liquid Glass was cool and gave little thought to readability. At least we can reduce transparency. I do like customizing control center. Please bring back square windows.