With Google having rolled out the early developer preview images of
Android L, it was
inevitable that the various treasures therein would be plucked out by the
modding community and distributed around to those in ownership of devices
running older versions of the search giant’s ubiquitous software. Although the
Google
Keyboard
3.1 found within Android L was initially proving problematic, those in the know
have fixed it all up, and it’s now primed and ready for installation on any
device running Android 4.0
Ice
Cream Sandwich or above.
Already, we’ve shown you how you can
download
and enjoy the beautiful new Android L wallpapers on your
device, but I think you’ll agree that the matter of the
Materially-Designed
new keyboard is a considerably more pressing one. Thanks to the work of
dedicated
Android developers
– namely those gracing the forums at
XDA-Developers – you can now
install the new keyboard on your device running Android 4.0 or higher, although
for best results, you’ll need to be rooted.
The first thing to note about Google Keyboard 3.1 is that, at present, the
changes are purely aesthetic. It arrives bearing the Material Design that
Google waxed lyrical about at I/O, but aside from the visual alterations,
provides all of the same key-tapping functions.
As aforementioned, you will need to be running Android 4.0 or newer in order
to indulge, but provided you can meet this prerequisite, then you’re good to
go. Rooted users should go here over at XDA, which provides the flashable .ZIP
file required to get the keyboard up and running, while those of you that
haven’t rooted your device can attempt to install the APK located here.
The root method is apparently more reliable, and given that
root access,
by its very nature, allows you to get right into the system files and make such
permanent alterations, this shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise.
Given that the keyboard doesn’t actually bring anything to the table aside
from its refined looks, you mightn’t want to dive in right away, particularly
given the fact that some users have experienced issues with a feature pulled
from what remains only preview software.
Still, if you’re sold by the new Material Design and want to take a closer
look, check out those threads, where you’ll find all of the required
information, as well as troubleshooting.
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