Gboard keyboard gets tablet-optimised interface

Available with the Gboard Beta edition, the new interface version is better optimized for display on large screens such as those offered by tablets and convertible laptops. The Gboard 12.3 Beta version is already available in the Play Store and can be installed on Android devices such as Galaxy Tab series tablets.

Gboard is by far the most popular keyboard app used on Android devices, and now there’s all the more reason to appreciate it. Developed back when Android phones with screens larger than 4 inches were considered large, Gboard has remained somewhat captive to those times, not really offering support for devices with large screens until now.

The new Gboard design significantly increases the size of the displayed keys, with the slightly taller interface on the tablet screen appearing less like an extended version of a smartphone keyboard and more like a keyboard created specifically for tablets. When using the screen in portrait mode, the virtual keys become a little narrower, but retain the rectangular appearance inspired by the keyboard of laptop systems.

The keyboard now also has a Tab button and left-right directional keys, useful when you want to move the cursor location for text editing. At the same time, the comma and period buttons have been moved to the third row alphabetically. There’s also a dedicated button for hiding the keyboard. The emoji key has been moved from the right to the left side of the spacebar, while the top bar now shows more suggestions.

The new Gboard interface optimized for tablets should help increase productivity with these devices. Also to this end, we can expect Google to ship more apps optimized for tablets and foldable screen devices in the coming period.