Gboard ‘Fix it’ gets Gemini-esque glow-up

Abner Li | May 9 2024 - 4:23 pm PT

The latest Gboard 14.2 beta is rolling out with a particularly eye-catching change to the “Fix it” Proofread feature on Pixel.

About APK Insight: In this “APK Insight” post, we’ve decompiled the latest version of an application that Google uploaded to the Play Store. When we decompile these files (called APKs, in the case of Android apps), we’re able to see various lines of code within that hint at possible future features. Keep in mind that Google may or may not ever ship these features, and our interpretation of what they are may be imperfect. We’ll try to enable those that are closer to being finished, however, to show you how they’ll look in case that they do ship. With that in mind, read on.

The “Fix it” chip that appears in the Gboard suggestions row is now a bit more prominent. Instead of a solid color outline, it’s now blue and purple in a possible nod to Gemini. The “More fixes” button also gets the same treatment.

Old vs. new

Meanwhile, the Proofread pane no longer lets you leave more detailed feedback using the system tool or the series of “Share your feedback” faces. Your only options now are thumbs up/down.

Google made Proofread official with the Pixel 8 launch in October, but it started rolling out to Pixel owners in the Gboard beta a month earlier. I could very well see Google making Gboard Proofread — which uses generative AI to correct typos and other grammatical errors, while adding punctuation — part of Gemini. More broadly, Assistant voice typing will presumably be rebranded with Gemini down the line.

While that change is already live, we also enabled a slight redesign of the Resize UI in Gboard 14.2. You get text labels for Reset and Done, while there are new drag handles at the top and bottom.

When Gboard introduced this Resize UI, it annoyingly removed the Keyboard height setting that offered fixed sizes: Extra-short, Short, Mid-short, Normal, Mid-Tall, Tall, Extra-tall. This was great, especially when moving across devices, with Gboard now requiring you to eyeball it.