Gboard is rolling out a brand new emoji picker that is optimized for tablets and foldables

Google’s keyboard app for Android, Gboard, is offered on not solely smartphones but additionally tablets, foldables, smartwatches, TVs, and even automobiles. Google needed to do a whole lot of work to optimize Gboard for every kind issue, however there’s at all times extra that may be accomplished to make the keyboard app look and carry out even higher. The corporate is now rolling out an replace that additional optimizes the Gboard for large-screen Android gadgets.

Earlier at present, I noticed a brand new UI for selecting emojis, stickers, GIFs, and emoticons within the Gboard app whereas utilizing my Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, a book-style foldable, in its unfolded state. I turned on my OnePlus Open and checked if the brand new picker UI was additionally there when it was unfolded, however it wasn’t. Nonetheless, after updating from Gboard model 14.5.05-beta to model 14.6.02-beta on my OnePlus Open, the brand new picker UI confirmed up.

For comparability, right here’s the outdated Gboard UI for selecting emojis, stickers, and GIFs on foldables:

This outdated picker UI is notably what you at present get on smartphones. In distinction, right here’s the brand new Gboard UI for selecting emojis, stickers, and GIFs that’s rolling out on foldables:

As you’ll be able to see, the outdated picker UI locations the search bar and classes on the high under the textual content area, whereas the brand new picker UI locations them beneath the tab header on the left. The search bar is barely bigger and now says what you’re looking for, whereas the classes at the moment are labeled as a substitute of simply being denoted by icons. Moreover, the classes at the moment are in a vertically scrolling carousel as a substitute of a horizontally scrolling one.

On foldables, the toolbar the place you turn between the emoji, sticker, GIF, and emoticon pickers remains to be positioned on the very backside above the navigation space. On tablets, although, this toolbar is moved to the very left aspect. The emoji kitchen part can be situated in barely totally different positions on foldables and tablets. On foldables, it’s situated above the vertically scrolling carousel of emojis, identical to on the outdated design. On tablets, nevertheless, it’s been moved to the left of the emoji carousel.

Total, Gboard’s new UI for selecting emojis, stickers, GIFs, and emoticons is healthier optimized for large-screen gadgets like Android tablets and book-style foldable telephones. The brand new picker UI on foldables enables you to use your left hand to change between classes or faucet the search bar and your proper hand to choose a selected emoji, sticker, GIF, or emoticon. The brand new picker UI on tablets is analogous however provides additional optimizations to reap the benefits of the additional width of many pill shows.

In keeping with Gboard modder Radosław Błędowski, Google launched a flag to allow this tablet-optimized picker UI two years in the past. Nonetheless, we haven’t seen any stories of this UI rolling out earlier than, and in our testing, it seems to be new, not less than on book-style foldables. When you see this new picker UI within the Gboard app in your pill or foldable, tell us within the feedback!