Google has been engaged on a redesign of its keyboard app Gboard for the previous few months, a minimum of since August final yr. Significantly, it’s tweaking the highest shortcuts toolbar of the keyboard. An APK teardown of the newest beta model has revealed a few of the ongoing works.
Gboard is readying a shortcuts toolbar redesign
The oldsters over at 9to5Google not too long ago decompiled the Gboard APK following the newest beta replace for the app. They may allow an unfinished keyboard design that makes some notable modifications to the shortcuts toolbar. For starters, the shortcuts now get their very own rounded rectangular containers like different keys, aside from the microphone button which sits on the intense proper of the toolbars in a round housing. Effectively, the intense left button additionally will get a round container. However the general thought is to make issues constant throughout the keyboard because the shortcuts now look extra like keys.
With this modification, the leftmost button with a round housing isn’t the one you at present have, although. The button that allows you to cover the shortcuts is gone and changed by a brand new one that allows you to edit the toolbar so as to add or take away seen shortcuts. The ellipsis button (three horizontal dots or …) served this function beforehand however Google has redesigned it and moved it to the left. Tapping it reveals the extra shortcuts you can maintain and drag so as to add to the toolbar. Google particularly tells you that right here. This part can be denser than earlier than and options extra shortcuts in comparable rectangular containers.
There are just a few different minor modifications throughout the keyboard. However most notably, this redesign of Gboard permits for one extra shortcut on the toolbar. Now you can have seven shortcuts together with the microphone, along with the customise button on the left. The modifications make Google’s keyboard app extra usable than earlier than. Sadly, it’s unclear when this redesign will roll out to customers. It’s not even there within the newest beta model. We are going to let you realize as soon as we have now that info.
Gboard on tablets will get a minor change
Together with this redesign on telephones, Google has additionally made one minor change to Gboard for tablets. The large-screen model obtained an optimized structure in October of final yr. As a part of that optimization, the corporate eliminated the “?123” shortcut from the bottom-right nook and changed it with a devoted key to cover the keyboard. Model 12.6 of the app reverses that change. You possibly can already cover the keyboard by tapping wherever else on the display screen or utilizing the again button/gesture. In the event you use Gboard in your Android cellphone or pill, be careful for these modifications within the coming weeks.
