Google’s keyboard for Android, Gboard, has undergone some controversial changes lately with a new look that some beta users aren’t loving. But there could be an even more controversial change on the horizon, as an option will be coming to “iPhone-ize” the keyboard.
As uncovered in an APK teardown by Android Authority, the new beta version of Gboard includes an option to hide the comma and period keys on the default keyboard screen — as is done in the iPhone keyboard. With the toggle enabled, Android users must tap the “?123” key to access their essential punctuation marks.
While this is currently only optional and only included in the beta version of Gboard, it does raise questions about whether this might become the default in future versions of the keyboard software. And, as Android Authority editor Hadlee Simons points out, that’s bound to make typing a more frustrating experience.
With the iPhone being a key icon of the design world for over a decade now, plenty of tech companies like to follow its lead in terms of user interface design. But changes to make typing less convenient isn’t the kind of streamlining that brings benefit to the user, even if it does make the keyboard look nice and neat.
Admittedly, the way that people type has changed drastically in the last decade, with typical internet and mobile users tending toward typing in lowercase and using less punctuation. Less punctuation, however, doesn’t mean no punctuation, and iPhone users have already complained about the number of taps required to access basic punctuation marks. It’s bad enough that some commentators have already argued that punctuation is dead because of the iPhone keyboard, while other Apple users have taken to using the enter key (which is still easily accessible) instead of punctuation.
There will be other keyboards available for Android, and to reiterate it isn’t known whether this change will become the default on Gboard, but it’s something that users who like to type in a more formal way should be aware of.
