Tushar Mehta / Android Authority
TL;DR The latest Gboard beta brings options to customize font size between 85% to 200% of the system default.
Another option lets you switch between Google’s own font and any custom system font.
These features are spotted on different devices, suggesting Google might just be testing them before rolling them out to the stable channel.
Gboard is a hotbed for tryouts, with Google constantly experimenting with new features, layouts, or special arrangements for specific languages. Recently, Google rolled out assistive writing tools to Pixel devices after announcing them first with the Pixel 10. And now, a wider set of users is set to receive a significant customization option soon, which is already rolling out in beta.
With Gboard, Google is now testing the ability to set a font size for the keyboard. This new setting works independently of the global font size setting on your phone and allows you to choose a size between 85% and 200% of the default font size.
This new feature appears to be rolling out selectively with version 15.9.0.799068799 beta of the Gboard app on Android. My colleague, Mishaal Rahman, and I have it on some of our test devices, including the OnePlus 13, but not on all of them, despite running the same version of the app. This suggests that it’s either being rolled out slowly or is available to a subset of all the devices.
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You can find the font size options in Gboard’s settings in Preferences > Font Size. When you tap the option, you will see a slider that will allow you to adjust the size in varying increments. Currently, the slider only stops at predefined values, instead of allowing fine-tuning of the size. The values presently supported are 85%, 100%, 115%, 130%, 150%, 180%, and 200%.
As mentioned above, this font size remains independent of the system setting and will be especially useful for those who prefer to set an extra-small or extra-large font size for regular text on their phones but don’t want to scale the letters on Gboard. However, if you change the Display size on your phone, it would impact Gboard’s apparent font size.
In addition to this setting for the font size, Google also appears to be activating another font setting, which we spotted previously when it was still under development. This option lets you choose between a Gboard font, presumably Google Sans, and the System font. That means you if you use a custom font on your phone, you can replicate it on the letter on the keyboard. While this new setting also appears in Gboard’s latest beta version, I notice the setting on another device, which suggests another test.
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