Gboard often runs A/B tests for new features, themes, and other tweaks, and it appears another one is rolling out this week. Some Gboard users on Android are reporting the return of the Google Sans font after it first appeared last year.
Alongside a tweaked overall theme last year, some Gboard users noted that the font had changed from the standard Roboto to Google Sans. It was first spotted around September, but rolled out a bit more widely in December before strangely disappearing.
Now, it appears to be coming back, at least for some. Gboard version 10.4 seems to re-enabled Google Sans for some users, as one reader and some Reddit users have found. That version of the app is rolling out in beta right now, but it seems likely this is tied to a server-side change.
The Google Sans font is a play on Open Sans that Google has been using throughout many of its products for the past couple of years. The clean design is widely used on Pixel phones and in Google apps and websites. Recently, Search has been rolling out the font more widely.
Thanks Michael!
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- Gboard 10.3 adds setting to turn off clipboard suggestions on Android
- Gboard’s ’emoji kitchen’ is expanding w/ 14,000+ sticker combinations
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