All articles tagged with #gboard
Gboard for Android is gradually adopting the Material 3 Expressive redesign for its shortcuts page, shifting from a grid layout to a pill-shaped, swipeable interface that reduces density and may affect usability, while also testing a broader Settings page update.
Gboard for Android is introducing a new 'Flick keys to enter symbols' shortcut, allowing users to quickly access numbers and symbols by swiping down on keys, with the feature rolling out in Gboard 16.2. Users can enable it in settings and it works best with the 'Touch & hold keys for symbols' option, though it may take some time to get used to due to accidental triggers.
The latest Gboard update for Android allows users to hide the period and comma keys through new toggle settings, offering a cleaner keyboard layout and customization options, with this feature widely rolled out in Gboard 16.0+.
Google's September 2025 Pixel Feature Drop introduces Material 3 Expressive, live lock screen effects, a redesigned Quick Settings, automatic navigation on Pixel Watch, and expanded LE Audio support with Auracast. It also enhances Gboard's AI tools, Quick Share, and reintroduces Androidify, aiming to make Pixel devices more personalized and seamless.
Gboard is introducing a new dedicated font size setting that allows users to customize keyboard size independently of system settings, with options from 85% to 200%. This feature is currently rolling out on some devices with the latest beta version and includes a banner notification and adjustable settings in Preferences. It offers more size flexibility without affecting emoji size and is part of broader visual updates to Gboard.
Google is developing a new compact, numpad-inspired keyboard layout for Gboard on Android to facilitate typing in Hindi, featuring a grid of ten buttons with multiple characters each, which can be accessed via swipe gestures. The feature is currently in beta and not yet available to users, and it aims to simplify Hindi typing without replacing existing methods. The layout does not include a T9-style keyboard for English, which is a notable omission.
Google is working on several new features for Gboard, including adding Emoji Kitchen combos to favorites, a SmartEdit voice editing feature, tighter integration with Pixel 10's Magic Cue, and improvements to writing tools and Smart Reply, as revealed by an APK teardown.
Gboard is set to integrate with 'Pixel Sense,' a feature that surfaces relevant information from apps like Gmail and Calendar directly in suggestions, and will also introduce 'Smart Edit,' a voice-based text editing tool, enhancing user productivity on Android devices.
Samsung Keyboard, the default keyboard on Galaxy devices, is criticized for its aggressive yet ineffective autocorrect, inconsistent capitalization, lack of features like GIF input, and poor voice-to-text functionality. Despite the shortcomings, users can easily switch to alternatives like Gboard. In other tech news, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra receives mixed reviews, Fossil discontinues smartwatches, Google prepares to rebrand Bard as "Gemini," and various updates and changes are reported for Google, OnePlus, Verizon, Honda, and Microsoft Edge.
Google's Gboard's Gemini Nano Smart Reply feature, which initially supported only WhatsApp, has quietly added support for Line and KakaoTalk on the Pixel 8 Pro, with promises of more messaging apps to come. This on-device AI model provides higher-quality smart replies with conversational awareness, saving time and computational resources by not needing to query the cloud. To enable, users need to download the 1GB Gemini Nano model and enable Aicore Persistent in the settings.
Gboard is preparing a new "Seamless voice typing" feature in its latest beta version, allowing voice typing to start automatically when the keyboard is shown, eliminating the need to manually initiate it. This optional behavior can be turned on/off in the voice settings and aims to simplify the current two-stage process of tapping a text field and hitting the microphone icon. The feature could potentially work with non-Pixel speech-to-text on all Android devices, and is part of Gboard's efforts to streamline voice input.
Gboard is introducing an Assistant voice typing toolbar for the Pixel Tablet, featuring a pill-shaped toolbar that allows users to see more of their screen when voice typing. The toolbar includes access to settings, voice commands, clipboard, and translate, as well as a shortcut for the emoji/expressive keyboard. This feature is currently available in version 13.7 of Gboard beta and is only rolled out on one Pixel Tablet so far, with no confirmation of its availability on Pixel phones.
The Pixel Watch's At a Glance feature has lost its day/date functionality, leaving only the temperature and weather information. Additionally, a Gboard update for Wear OS is failing to install, resulting in an error message. These issues are likely server-side changes and Google is expected to resolve them soon.
Gboard now supports writing directly on text fields using an S Pen on Samsung Galaxy tablets. The new feature, labeled "Write In Text Fields," allows users to convert their handwriting into typed text. The latest beta version of Gboard (13.7) includes gestures for entering new lines, deleting words, selecting text, inserting new text, and joining letters. The feature is available on Google and Samsung tablets running Android 14.
Gboard is rolling out stylus handwriting support on Android tablets, allowing users to convert their handwriting into editable text. The feature includes various editing actions such as deleting, selecting, inserting, joining, and creating new lines. The floating keyboard toolbar offers shortcuts to settings, handwriting demo, on-screen keyboard, clipboard, translate, and language picker. The stylus handwriting feature is available in the latest beta version of Gboard on Pixel and Samsung tablets running Android 14.