Google has been testing different Gboard Material You designs for quite some time. While we have not yet seen the final form of the keyboard, elements that were previously included on Pixel phones are now reaching Samsung phones.
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The feature adds splashes of color to various aspects of Gboard on Samsung phones. The backspace, shift, and symbol toggle button acquire a hue based on your selected theme, along with the comma and period keys. The enter and the toolbar arrow at the top have similar treatment, but with darker shades. Unfortunately, the navigation bar itself does not get the new color.
Speaking about the Material You modifications, some rounded elements have also appeared, with the symbol switcher and the enter taking circular shapes — if you use your keyboard with outlines. Additionally, the pop‑up windows with key presses have removed the previous rectangular appearance in favor of a circular one, as we know from Pixel devices.
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It's not just that, though. Another feature that arrived with this beta release is the new improved appearance for Gboard's floating mode. It adjusts the tab for moving the keyboard, eliminating the circular bulge at the bottom of the user interface and replacing the full-size icon with a horizontal line, indicating that it is still movable. The floating keyboard also has rounded edges that match the circular keys mentioned above.
Until now, we have had access to these changes on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 and the Galaxy S22 Ultra with Android 12 and using Gboard beta version 11.5.05.427194903. We have previously seen Material You elements generally appear in various parts of the Gboard UI on Samsung phones, including a top line filament, rounded corners, and a modified system auto icon. However, regarding the actual keyboard interface, this is the first major revision coming to Gboard on Samsung phones.
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While these recent changes aren't available to everyone yet, we expect them to arrive soon. If you want to try this new version, head over to APK Mirror to download the latest beta.
Information source: androidpolice.com
