Gboard is a

virtual keyboard A virtual keyboard is a software component that allows the input of characters without the need for physical keys. The interaction with the virtual keyboard happens mostly via a touchscreen interface, but can also take place in a different form ...

app developed by

Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...

for Android and

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...

devices. It was first released on iOS in May 2016, followed by a release on Android in December 2016, debuting as a major update to the already-established Google Keyboard app on Android. Gboard features

Google Search Google Search (also known simply as Google) is a search engine provided by Google. Handling more than 3.5 billion searches per day, it has a 92% share of the global search engine market. It is also the most-visited website in the world. The ...

, including web results (removed since April 2020) and predictive answers, easy searching and sharing of GIF and emoji content, a predictive typing engine suggesting the next word depending on context, and

multilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...

language support. Updates to the keyboard have enabled additional functionality, including GIF suggestions, options for a dark color theme or adding a personal image as the keyboard background, support for voice dictation, next-phrase prediction, and hand-drawn emoji recognition. At the time of its launch on iOS, the keyboard only offered support for the English language, with more languages being gradually added in the following months, whereas on Android, the keyboard supported more than 100 languages at the time of release. In August 2018, Gboard passed 1 billion installs on the

Google Play Store Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android operating syst ...

, making it one of the most popular Android apps. This is measured by the Google Play Store and includes downloads by users as well as pre-installed instances of the app.

Features

Gboard is a

app. It features

, including web results (removed for Android version of the app) and predictive answers, easy searching and sharing of GIF and emoji content, and a predictive typing engine suggesting the next word depending on context. At its May 2016 launch on iOS, Gboard only supported the English language, while it supported "more than 100 languages" at the time of its launch on the Android platform. Google states that Gboard will add more languages "over the coming months". As of October 2019, 916 languages are supported. Gboard features Floating Keyboard and Google Translate in Gboard itself. Gboard supports one-handed mode on Android after its May 2016 update. This functionality was added to the app when it was branded as Google Keyboard. Gboard supports a variety of different keyboard layouts including

QWERTY QWERTY () is a keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets. The name comes from the order of the first six keys on the top left letter row of the keyboard ( ). The QWERTY design is based on a layout created for the Sholes and Glidden t ...

QWERTZ The QWERTZ or QWERTZU keyboard is a typewriter and keyboard layout widely used in Central Europe. The name comes from the first six letters at the top left of the keyboard: ( ). Overview The main difference between QWERTZ and QWERTY is ...

AZERTY AZERTY () is a specific layout for the characters of the Latin alphabet on typewriter keys and computer keyboards. The layout takes its name from the first six letters to appear on the first row of alphabetical keys; that is, ( ). Similar t ...

, Dvorak and

Colemak Colemak is a keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets, designed to make typing more efficient and comfortable by placing the most frequently used letters of the English language on the home row. Created on 1 January 2006, it is named after its ...

. An update for the iOS app released in August 2016 added French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish languages, as well as offering "smart GIF suggestions", where the keyboard will suggest GIFs relevant to text written. The keyboard also offers new options for a dark theme or adding a personal image from the camera roll as the keyboard's background. Another new update in March 2018 added Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Polish, Romanian, Balochi, Swedish, Catalan, Hungarian, Malay, Russian, Latin American Spanish, and Turkish languages, along with support for voice dictation, enabling users to "long press the mic button on the space bar and talk". In April 2017, Google significantly increased the amount of Indian languages supported on Gboard, adding 11 new languages, bringing the total number of supported Indian languages to 22. In June 2017, the Android app was updated to support recognition of hand-drawn emoji and the ability to predict whole phrases rather than single words. The functionality is expected to come to the iOS app at a later time. Offline voice recognition was added in March 2019. On 12 February 2020, a new feature “Emoji Kitchen” was introduced that allowed users to mash up different emoji and use them as stickers when messaging. Grammar correction was introduced in October 2021, first on the

Pixel 6 The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are a pair of Android smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Google as part of the Google Pixel product line. They collectively serve as the successor to the Pixel 5. The phones were first previewed in A ...

series.

Reception

In 2016, ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' praised the keyboard, particularly the integrated Google search feature. However, it was noted that the app does not currently support integration with other apps on the device, meaning that queries such as "Buy Captain America movie tickets" sends users to the web browser rather than an app for movie tickets installed on their phone. ''The Wall Street Journal'' also praised the predictive typing engine, stating that it "blows past most competitors" and "it gets smarter with use". They also discovered that Gboard "cleverly suggests emojis as you type words". It was noted that there was the lack of a one-handed mode (a feature added in May 2016 for Android), as well as a lack of options for changing color or the size of keys, writing that "If you're looking to customize a keyboard, Gboard isn't for you."

References

External links

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List of supported languages
{{Google Inc. Google software 2016 software Android (operating system) software Android virtual keyboards Virtual keyboards Input methods for handheld devices IOS software