Gboard rolls out ‘auto-switch after apostrophes’ & M3 Expressive Settings redesign [U]
Source: 9to5Google
Auto‑switch after apostrophes
As we wait for the broader redesign, Gboard for Android is getting a nice quality‑of‑life improvement with the auto‑switch after apostrophes shortcut.
- Update 2/14 – “Auto‑switch after apostrophes” has widely rolled out to stable users (version 16.7) in the past week and is enabled by default.
- Original 1/22 – Gboard can now “automatically switch back to the letter keyboard after an apostrophe.” Previously, you had to press the space bar or use the ‘?123’ key in the bottom‑left corner.
This lets you immediately complete a possessive noun or contraction. You’ll see a prompt when this feature is rolled out to your device, and you can disable it from Settings > Preferences > Shortcuts.
We’re currently seeing “Auto‑switch after apostrophes” in the beta channel (version 16.6); it’s not yet widely rolled out for testers.
Material 3 Expressive redesign
Speaking of Settings, Gboard has rolled out the Material 3 Expressive redesign as of version 16.5 in the stable channel. It’s a straightforward modernization that uses containers to group together relevant menus on the main list, and individual pages have also been updated.
Google is also testing a redesign of the shortcuts page, as well as rounded keys.