Following Gboard hitting 10 billion Play Store downloads yesterday, the Android keyboard has made a small change to the shortcuts button that lets you access various tools.
The row above your keyboard allows up to six shortcuts. To access everything else, you tap the icon in the top-left corner of the keyboard for the grid.
That 2×2 square icon was previously placed in a circle to match the button at the opposite end that’s usually for voice dictation, though you can drag something else there.
Old vs. new
window.adSlotsConfig = window.adSlotsConfig || [];
adSlotsConfig.push( {
slotID: ‘/1049447/Outbrain’,
slotName: ‘div-gpt-ad-outbrain-ad-663358’,
sizes: [300, 250],
slotPosition: ‘mid_article’
} );
That round container that had a Dynamic Color background has been removed, while the rounded squares are no longer hollow and now filled-in. It’s white or black (depending on the theme) to match the shortcuts to the right.
There’s no practical impact with this icon change, but it does visually impact the symmetry of the shortcuts row.
Gboard has been continually tweaking this icon over the years. Most recently, Google gave the button a bright Dynamic Color background. Before that, the icon was a 3×3 grid of circles, while it was an arrow for the longest time. The trend has been towards simplifying the shortcut.
2021 vs. 2022
This new shortcuts button hit beta earlier this month and it’s now widely rolled out to Gboard’s stable channel with version 14.9 following a server-side update.
More on Gboard:
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
<hr>
<p><strong>🚨 Disclaimer(Because Lawyers Exist):</strong> This article was scraped, gathered, and possibly abducted from <a href=”[source_url]” target=”_blank”>[source_url]</a>.
Any hot takes, controversial opinions, or mind-blowing insights belong to them, not us.
So if you disagree, kindly direct your complaints to the source—or scream into the void, whichever works.</p>
<p><strong>🤖 AI Shenanigans:</strong> Some parts of this article were optimized, polished, and possibly rewritten by **our AI overlord** to make it more readable, engaging, and SEO-friendly.
So, if it sounds smarter than usual, thank the machine. If it sounds weird… well, also blame the machine.</p>
<p><strong>💸 Affiliate Hustle:</strong> This post may contain affiliate links (Amazon, BestBuy, or some other capitalist empires).
If you buy something through these links, we might make a few bucks—at no extra cost to you!
Consider it a **”digital high-five”** for bringing you this awesome content. <a href=”https://your-affiliate-link.com”>Check out our recommended deals here.</a></p>
<p>🔥 Stay informed, stay entertained, and don’t sue us. Haxx! 🎉</p>