Android’s physical navigation buttons are back on Googlebooks, but not the way you think

Googlebook keyboards include Android’s old triangle, circle, and square navigation symbols on the F1, F2, and F3 keys. The icons, first introduced with Android 5.0 Lollipop, map to familiar back, home, and app-switching controls rather than signaling a return to phone-style hardware buttons.

The choice highlights Google’s effort to make Googlebook OS feel more connected to Android’s interface history. It also suggests a broader trend of using cross-device design cues to make laptops, tablets, and phones feel like parts of the same ecosystem.