Android's classic navigation buttons return on Googlebook keyboards
On every Googlebook keyboard, the F1, F2 and F3 keys now carry the triangle, circle and square icons from Android 5.0 Lollipop. They serve as back, home and app-switcher controls.
A common assumption is that the Quick Insert and Google logo keys on Googlebooks are new. In fact, they first appeared a couple of years ago on some Chromebooks. What is new is something else: on every Googlebook keyboard, the F1, F2 and F3 keys look like the old Android navigation icons.
The triangle, circle and square were first used in Android 5.0 Lollipop. They worked as back, home and app-switcher buttons before navigation moved over to gestures. On phones running Android 17 they are still available as an alternative.
What each key does
On Googlebook OS the keys work as follows:
- the left-pointing triangle goes back;
- the circle goes home by minimizing all open apps;
- the square tiles the open apps, similar to Mission Control on macOS or Task View on Windows.
Assessment
The Verge reviewer Antonio G. Di Benedetto finds the buttons useful, and considers it a plus that they are the same across all Googlebooks. The back button can be necessary when using Android apps that are not really optimized for a desktop interface or mouse controls.
He would like a second press of the home button to bring all apps back to where they were. That function belongs to a separate feature called desktop peeking, which uses a different keyboard shortcut.
In the author's view, the buttons are a nice touch for longtime Android fans, but also a reminder that a fallback is sometimes needed when Android behaves in its typically unpredictable way.
