Gboard for Android Tour: A Keyboard With Integrated Search Engine

If you are more into Android, then you would have definitely hated the fact that Gboard showed up on iOS first which shocked everyone because that was a strange move by Google and moreover it didn't make way to Android at that time. The features in Gboard were so important, that it made it's way into one of the most awaited apps for Android from the moment of its origin. Well, wait no more, because it's now available for Android. It is currently rolling out on Play Store at a slow pace but the Gboard for Android still lacks the GIF support, which the iOS version has.

It has been around 6 months since the debut of this app and now the Google Keyboard v6 has been converted to Gboard for Android with all the functionality that the iOS version has except the GIF support. Yes, the GIF support is not available yet to Android devices other than Nexus and Pixels. You need to wait if you own other then the mentioned android spartans.

Now, let's talk about what we get to see in this new featured keyboard from Google. As the name suggests the main highlight of the keyboard goes with the integration of Google search.

The image above must differentiate if you haven't installed this update. See that bar sitting at the top of the keyboard, seems identical to suggestions bar right? but that Google button is the magic wand here, spell your words or ask it questions and it will do the magic by presenting you with the relevant information, articles, links and even videos too which you can instantly share if you want to. Here's an example -

We searched for news and boom no need to go to the browser and you're getting the stuff right into the area covered by the keyboard, how much more easier life would be? Pretty impressive move and time saver function has now been integrated with the keys.

It is time to discuss the keyboard appearance changes made in the deep side. Here are some snippets to better understand and get an idea of what's going on with the interface now -

Comma key has been changed and now is bifurcated into three already introduced functionalities in the Google Keyboard. The above screenshot represents the same. One Handed Mode which shrinks the keyboard from either side for a comfortable one handed typing experience, Emoticons to choose from and Setting button has been attached which is another good move as we tend to use this key alot.

Emoticons section of the Gboard has been changed much with layout of emoticons and search emoji bar addition to be the prime thing here. Other noticeable changes includes borders which have been added to all the emoticons, this might look ugly to users at first but will get used to it after sometime. See that GIF page, that is present but not functional for now as we told you before, it needs a soul to work. GIF Support will be added later and we can't wait for it to happen.

Emoji Search bar is a useful thing to have in the keyboard as we waste a pretty amount of time in swiping and finding that one emoji we want to share, but with Gboard you can now forget that hassle and directly search for the emoji you want with some relevant name, here is and example -

The word fire will show up all the relevant emojis but we are confused here as to why that dart board has been included in the fire string, maybe aim and fire must have something to do with it (Weird Emoji on the search now 😅).

Here's the settings page for the Gboard, the only change we can see is with the Glide thing. So, Gesture Typing is now Glide Typing, Google is playing with the names a bit with this update but changes are welcomed if functionality isn't disturbed and that is what has been done here, functionality intact but name not so intact.

Well, that is it with the Gboard. If you are willing to download it right now head to the APKMirror and sideload it via the APK or wait as Play Store is rolling out the update slowly but surely.

Rajat Kapoor

Rajat Kapoor is a self confessed tech geek. Always up to date with what's going on in the tech world, he is currently pursuing MCA and prefers Android over iOS. You will see his articles here and we do hope that you find them useful and informational.