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Gboard, Google's virtual keyboard app, offers a range of features designed to enhance typing efficiency and user experience. It includes predictive text, voice typing, and multilingual support, making it a versatile tool for smartphone users. Additionally, Gboard integrates seamlessly with Google services, allowing for quick access to search, maps, and more directly from the keyboard. This integration aims to streamline tasks and improve productivity for users on the go.

Finally, Bigger Emojis! Google Solves an Annoying Keyboard Problem

Close-up of a smartphone with a white screen. In the center is the logo of the Google keyboard, Gboard: a blue keyboard with the colorful Google "G" on a white icon above it. At the top edge of the display is a circular front camera. The device is positioned at an angle against a dark background with blurred blue keyboard keys and a red area in the lower left.
The new feature in Gboard not only changes the emoji size but also the number of symbols per line. Photo: picture alliance / Laurin Christl / picturedesk.com | Laurin Christl
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August 20, 2026, 2:40 pm | Read time: 2 minutes

Google is giving its Android keyboard, Gboard, a small but practical update. In a current beta version, users can adjust the size of emojis for the first time using a dedicated slider. This makes it significantly easier to find the right symbol.

Big, Bigger, Gboard

According to the online magazine 9to5Google, the new option is called “Emoji size” and is located in the settings directly below the already familiar font size slider. The emoji size can also be adjusted with a slider in the future. At the same time, the setting also determines how many emojis are displayed per line in the selection.

Depending on the selected level, between five and nine emojis are displayed per row. Those who choose the largest display will see only five symbols per line. In contrast, the smallest setting fits nine emojis in a row.

As 9to5Google reports, there are a total of seven levels available: 9, 8, 8+, 7, 7+, 6, and 5. The default setting is nine emojis per line. The intermediate levels “8+” and “7+” slightly enlarge the emojis without changing the number of displayed symbols. Google also shows a preview above the slider, so changes are immediately visible.

Practical for Readability and Accessibility

The update is likely to benefit users who have difficulty distinguishing smaller emojis. Facial expressions, in particular, look very similar on small displays.

Also interesting: These emojis are often used incorrectly!

Back in February, the online magazine AndroidAuthority reported that Google was working on a feature to automatically adjust emojis to the font size set on the smartphone. However, the new solution goes a step further and instead offers its own slider directly in Gboard.

Currently, the feature is apparently only being distributed to users of the beta version 18.0.3.x of Gboard. It is not yet known if and when the new emoji size adjustment will be released for all Android users.

This article is a machine translation of the original German version of TECHBOOK and has been reviewed for accuracy and quality by a native speaker. For feedback, please contact us at info@techbook.de.

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