Gboard tries out round and oval keys on Android

Google’s keyboard app for Android, Gboard, is getting a fresh look. Some beta testers are seeing a new design with circle and oval-shaped keys starting today. Normally, Gboard’s keys have rounded square edges. Now, letters are turning into circles or ovals, and bigger keys like the space bar are becoming pill-shaped. The way you tap them stays the same, but this tweak gives Gboard a whole new vibe.

The updated style feels a bit sleeker and more modern than the old look. That said, it can feel tight if you use the “Long press for symbols” option. Before, symbols sat in the top-right corner of keys, but now they’re right above the letters. This moves Gboard away from the square keys you see on most laptops and desktops.

This change popped up for some users in the Gboard beta version 15.1 on Thursday. It’s not rolled out to everyone in the beta group yet, so it’s still a test run. Recently, Gboard also made its Dynamic Color theme simpler with just two tones and tweaked the shortcut button in the suggestion bar. But this key shape switch is a bigger deal. We’ll have to wait and see if Google decides to share it with all users down the road.