Googlebook keyboards now carry a piece of Android history: the F1, F2, and F3 keys are marked with the triangle, circle, and square icons that first appeared on Android 5.0 Lollipop. According to The Verge, these are not new additions to the keyboard layout, but the navigation symbols are new to Googlebooks, and they work as longtime Android users would expect. The triangle goes back, the circle minimizes all open apps, and the square tiles open apps in a desktop-style view.
The move gives Googlebook owners a consistent, physical way to navigate Android apps, which can be awkward to control with a mouse. The back button, in particular, is described as sometimes necessary when an Android app is not optimized for a desktop interface. While the home button does not restore previous app layouts on a second press—that feature is handled by a separate desktop peeking shortcut—the inclusion of these legacy keys is framed as a useful fallback rather than pure nostalgia.
The source notes that the Quick Insert and Google logo keys on Googlebooks are also not new, having debuted on some Chromebooks years earlier. The navigation keys, however, are a direct callback to Android’s pre-gesture era, and they remain available as an alternative in Android 17. For users who remember Lollipop, the buttons are a familiar sight; for everyone else, they are simply a practical addition to the keyboard.