Gboard, the Google keyboard doubles for folding: here it is in action

Already at the end of March in the beta code of Gboard the first clues had emerged that led straight to a layout dedicated to leaflets and tablets. On the other hand, Google is striving with Android 12L now and soon with Android 13 to support this type of device in a more organic way, offering solutions capable of actively exploiting the form factor to transform the extra surface available into a resource, and not in a format problem.

Well, the “split layout” glimpsed a few months ago is getting closer and closer to becoming reality, and we can already see what it will look like. Owners of Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 who have installed the latest beta version of Gboard, in fact, can verify that the new option appears in “Settings> Preferences”. Although, at the moment, it is not yet possible to activate it.

DIVIDE ET IMPERA

By “split layout” we mean a keyboard split in two, with the keys concentrated on the sides of the screen and the central area – the one that is more difficult to reach with your fingers when dealing with almost square displays – free of any element . The aim, of course, is to simplify typing on folding devices through this division: divide et impera – rather, divide et digita.

Although, despite being already present in the settings, it is not possible to activate the option, on the network there are those who have managed to force the app and try the news, as evidenced by the screens below that show the “split layout “of Gboard in action (both with the light theme and with the dark one, which has therefore already been implemented: a symptom that the works are well advanced).

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