Gboard could return to basics with a numpad-inspired layout for certain languages (APK teardown)
TL;DR Google is working on a compact keyboard layout as part of Gboard for typing in Hindi.
This new layout places characters from the Hindi alphabet across a grid of ten buttons.
Each button can hold up to five characters, which can be inserted by swiping in their respective directions.
Google has been working to bring several new changes to the Gboard app on Android, empowering it with more AI chops. More recently, we've learned about a new, more concise keyboard layout in Gboard for typing in the Hindi language. The new design places characters of the Hindi alphabet in a grid across ten buttons, with multiple adjacent vowels or consonants placed on a single button.
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An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
We found the new layout in the Gboard app for Android, version 15.6.2 beta. However, the feature is not currently available to users.
Each button in the new layout accommodates up to five characters. To type on this, you need to tap the button and swipe in the direction of the character you want to insert without lifting your finger.
This way of typing can be compared to typing on a feature phone with a numpad keyboard. While we don't immediately see Gboard automatically matching characters to form words (as on a T9 keyboard), suggestions appear at the top of the keyboard.
Notably, the ending consonants of the Hindi alphabet are currently missing from the ten-button layout and might be placed on a separate page. One reason to believe that is the right-pointing triangle button (▶) on the keyboard, which might reveal the remaining characters. Unfortunately, it doesn't work at the moment, and we, therefore, can't confirm the functionality just yet.
Finally, the new layout adds to the previous four ways to type in Hindi on Gboard and does not replace them, which would be a relief for anyone who doesn't like it.
Curiously, Gboard doesn't offer a T9-style keyboard layout for English. You can type in English using popular layouts like QWERTY, DVORAK, and even handwriting, but the simpler T9-style keyboard is missing from Gboard for English. The demand for this layout is likely very small for English, but some users would have appreciated the choice.
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