Googlebooks revive Android’s old triangle, circle, and square keys
New Googlebook keyboards place Android’s legacy triangle, circle, and square navigation icons on the F1, F2, and F3 keys. These keys act as back, home, and app switcher controls, echoing the buttons from Android 5.0 Lollipop. The layout is meant to help with Android apps that are not fully optimized for desktop use.
Googlebook keyboards now map Android’s older triangle, circle, and square symbols to F1, F2, and F3. Those icons appeared with Android 5.0 Lollipop and handled previous-screen, home, and recent-app duties before gesture controls became common; Android 17 handsets still include them as an alternative.
On Googlebook OS, the triangle goes to the prior screen, the circle minimizes open apps, and the square presents open apps in a tiled layout similar to macOS Mission Control or Windows Task View. Having the same arrangement across Googlebooks may assist with Android apps that are poorly suited to desktop or mouse use. Quick Insert and Google logo keys, however, are not new.
This change may mainly affect Googlebook users, Android app developers, and people who navigate by keyboard. Familiar symbols could reduce the learning curve for longtime Android users and offer a predictable fallback when apps behave awkwardly on laptops. It could also encourage developers to account for desktop input, though the impact may be modest because many users already rely on gestures or trackpads.