Gboard for Android gets an upgrade: What has changed?
What's the story
Google has introduced a new quality-of-life improvement in its Gboard app for Android. The feature, dubbed "auto-switch after apostrophes," is aimed at making typing more efficient. It automatically switches back to the letter keyboard after an apostrophe, saving users from having to manually press the space bar or use the ?'123' key on their keyboards.
User convenience
How to disable the new feature
The new feature, which is enabled by default, allows users to quickly finish a possessive noun or contraction. The update was widely rolled out to stable users (version 16.7) in the past week. If you want to disable it, you can do so from Settings > Preferences > Shortcuts on your Gboard app.
Visual update
Material 3 expressive redesign
Along with the new feature, Google has also rolled out a visual update for Gboard. The Material 3 Expressive redesign was introduced in version 16.5 of the app on the stable channel. It uses containers to group related menus on the main list, and individual pages have also been updated as part of this modernization effort.
Upcoming changes
Other updates in the pipeline
In addition to these updates, Google is testing a redesign of the shortcuts page in Gboard. The company is also experimenting with rounded keys as part of its ongoing efforts to improve user experience. These changes are currently being tested on the beta channel (version 16.6) and are not yet widely available for testers.