Google and Commercial Type have introduced a new variable typeface called Roboto Serif. The open-source font is designed to be easier on the eyes and provides an ideal reading experience across various screen sizes and in print.

Roboto Serif has a minimal design with "just a whisper of serif." The font was created from the ground up after a lot of experimenting with different shapes and proportions to improve its legibility. Roboto Serif has four variable axes and six optical sizes (micro, small text, text, deck, display, and poster). You can also adjust the width, height, size, and grade of the font. Google provides nine ready-made versions, including Thin, ExtraLight, Regular, Medium, Bold and Black.

Roboto Serif is a variable typeface family designed to create a comfortable and frictionless reading experience. Minimal and highly functional, it is useful anywhere (even for app interfaces) due to the extensive set of weights and widths across a broad range of optical sizes.

Roboto Serif is the latest addition in the Roboto superfamily, which includes Roboto Sans, Roboto Slab, Roboto Mono, and Roboto Condensed. The minimal design and versatility of Roboto Serif set it apart from other variable serif fonts such as Literata, which are made primarily for on-screen reading. In supported browsers, the font takes advantage of the CSS property "font-optical-sizing" to provide an improved on-screen reading experience. Google says the font remains comfortable to read at any size, in any format, from screen to print.

"Our aim has been to make a typeface that you could use for long-form journalism or a novel—something very long and involved; an immersive piece of text that you read on your phone—without wanting to complain about it," said Greg Gazdowicz of Commercial Type.

If you're interested, you can download Roboto Serif from Google Fonts.