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Summary
Google Gboard will introduce rounded virtual keys, offering users the option to switch between rectangular, rounded, or borderless styles.
The update will include a banner allowing users to revert to the old design.
The new look should debut at Google I/O next month.
Last month, it came to light that Google is working on a facelift for Gboard. Soon, the keys on Google’s virtual keyboard will sport a more rounded look, replacing the keyboard’s rectangular virtual keys with pill-shaped ones. The new look was controversial when it first appeared in a Gboard beta A/B test, with plenty of users reacting strongly both for and against the change. Now, Android Authority reports that the round keys are set to debut at Google I/O — and fortunately for the haters, they’ll be optional.
An APK teardown from Android Authority last week showed that, in addition to a new iOS-inspired swipe gesture for typing numbers and symbols, Gboard would be getting a toggle that allows users to choose between rectangular keys, rounded keys, and keys with no border at all. Now, courtesy of a source inside Google, Android Authority has shared that the feature will roll out with a banner that announces the change the first time Gboard shows its new, rounded look. The banner will have an option to dismiss (labeled “OK”), as well as a settings gear that’ll take you to a menu where you can revert to the old look.
It’s really a pretty elegant way to handle a UI change like this: by making the new look the default, many more users will be exposed to it. At the same time, adding quick access to settings that let users revert to the previous style is a good compromise for folks who don’t like what they see.
Rounded keys, coming at Google I/O?
Writing for Android Authority, Kamila Wojciechowska says they expect these new rounded keys to roll out as part of Google’s upcoming Material 3 Expressive design language sometime after Google I/O, which begins in just a couple of weeks. I’m hoping we get a thorough look at the new design language at Google’s developer conference — it’s been a while since Android’s had a meaningful visual overhaul. We’ll know for sure come May 20.
