Google’s Gboard beta improves on Android. The touch keyboard is becoming easier to use on foldable smartphones, which are becoming more popular.
Foldable smartphones, when unfolded, have screen sizes that approach those of tablets. Typing on the touch keyboard on it while holding the phone becomes complicated. The beta version of Gboard updates and improves the user experience on the foldable models, while the latter are democratized.
More ergonomic typing on large screens
The goal with this Gboard test is to make typing more ergonomic and less awkward on foldable smartphones with large screens like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3. In this version, the Android keyboard is split in two, the keys appear either side of the screen. The thumbs come more easily to the keys and do not have to pull towards the middle of the device when held in the hand. The option was spotted on Reddit’s r/GalaxyFold forum and relayed by Android Central.
This function is already present natively on the Samsung keyboard, however some users prefer the experience on Gboard, Google’s keyboard application. To test the feature, just sign up for the app’s beta program through the Play Store. It is present on beta version 11.9.04, but it may not be available until Google activates your server-side access.
Source: The Verge
Source: The Verge
On the left, the keyboard on a Surface Duo, on the right, the separate Gboard on a Galaxy Z Fold 3.
The Verge notes that ” you’ll know you have it when the toolbar above your foldable’s onscreen keyboard shows a split keyboard icon “. By clicking on it, the keyboard is divided on either side of the screen and the icon in question will be replaced by another which will bring the two halves together.
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