Google is readying a major redesign for the shortcuts toolbar in Gboard. Following a limited beta release in February, the company is now widely rolling out this change in the beta channel. A stable update should follow in the coming weeks.
Google has been working on this Gboard redesign since at least August last year. It is giving a massive makeover to the keyboard app‘s shortcuts toolbar that appears on top of the keyboard. Currently, you get six shortcuts in the toolbar, including the microphone and an ellipsis button to see more shortcuts (launch an overflow menu). These two can’t be customized, while Gboard lets you replace the other four.
But with the upcoming update, Google is removing the ellipsis button and replacing it with a new button with four squares. It serves the same purpose but now resides on the left end of the toolbar instead of the right. The microphone shortcut is also now customizable or user replaceable. And speaking of customization, Gboard lets you customize the order of shortcuts from the toolbar itself. That’s in addition to the existing customization ability from the overflow menu.
Google is also removing the leftmost button that lets you hide the toolbar. This makes way for one more shortcut, seven in total. These include one for bringing up more shortcuts. The other six are customizable, up from the four customizable shortcuts you get currently. You can even add a shortcut to Emojis, which already have a dedicated button left to the spacebar on the keyboard. The shortcuts get rectangular housing in the toolbar, similar to other keys.
This Gboard redesign is now available for more uses in the beta channel
Google has taken a lot of time to bring this Gboard update to the public. As said earlier, the work on these changes began in August last year. After months of development behind the scenes, the company began public beta testing of this redesign in mid-February.
Now, 9to5Google reports that the redesigned shortcuts toolbar is showing up for more people. Specifically, Gboard beta version 13.0 brings the new layout to everyone. If you’re interested in trying out the changes early, you can sign up for the beta program here (if slots are available). Otherwise, wait for the stable release, which should be just around the corner. You can click the button below to install the latest version of Gboard from the Google Play Store.
2023-05-31 15:06:46