The onscreen keyboards that come pre-installed on iOS and Android smartphones may not be to your liking. You may use Google’s Gboard instead.
Gboard has a slew of advantages over the built-in keyboards that come with most computers. Links to news articles, weather predictions, and sports results are all readily available through Google’s search engine. Use emojis and GIFs in your text messages to express yourself. You can type faster by moving your finger from character to character instead of typing one letter at a time. Transliterate the text you input into another language by using the translation option.
The Apple App Store or Google Play both have Gboard available for iOS devices (Opens in a new window). Despite the fact that the iOS and Android versions have a lot in common, Android has a few unique features that iOS does not. The Gboard keyboard may be set up and used in the following manner.
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Gboard on iOS
Open the Gboard app on your iOS device. There’s a Get Started screen at the bottom of the screen. Get started by using the Get Started button. Go to the General > Keyboards section of the Settings menu. Add a new keyboard by clicking on the Add Keyboard option.
Add New Keyboard:
Tap Gboard from the list of third-party keyboards in the Add New Keyboard window.
Allow Full Access:
Tap the Gboard entry and then turn on the button that says “Allow Full Access.” You get a message asking if you want to give Gboard full access. Tap Okay.
Gboard on Android
Depending on your device and version of Android, there are different ways to set up Gboard on an Android device. In some cases, the app is set up automatically, so you don’t have to do anything. In other situations, you need to turn on the keyboard. To do this, start the app and tap the “Enable in Settings” button.
Enable the App:
Turn on the Gboard keyboard at the Settings screen. Google shows you a message that says the app can save all the text you type. Tap OK if you still want to turn it on.
Select Input Method:
Then tap the Select Input Method button.
Select Keyboard:
Tap Gboard at the screen where it says “Select keyboard.”
Finalize:
The process is done when you tap Done.
Test the App
Open an app that needs you to type, like email, on iOS or Android.
Activate Keyboard
When you turn on an Android device, Gboard should start up automatically. You need to switch to the Gboard keyboard on an iOS device. Tap and hold the globe icon, then tap the Gboard entry. Gboard becomes your default keyboard.
Set Up Message
Fill in the fields for the sender, the subject, and the message body. Now let’s look at some of Gboard’s cool tools.
Search URL
Click on the Google symbol (yep, the one with the big letter G). Let’s say you want to add a link to a page about a certain subject. Now, you can start a search from the keyboard. Type a search term into the search field and tap the Search button.
Paste Link
The results show up in the lower part of the screen. Tap on a result to copy the link and paste it into your email.
Search Images
You can also look for things like videos on YouTube or directions on Maps. You can also look for local restaurants, weather forecasts, news stories, and other interesting things. You can also change the search to look for pictures or GIFs. Tap the Image icon at the bottom of the screen to see pictures that are related to your search term.
Search GIF
If you tap the GIF icon, animated GIFs that match your search term will show up. If you tap on a picture or GIF, you can add it to your text.
Search Emoji
Want to add the right emoji to your message to make it more interesting? Tap the keyboard’s Emoji button. You can look through all of the available emoji, tap on the different types of emoji at the bottom, or search for a specific one. Tap on it when you find it to add it to your text.
Glide Typing
Are you sick of having to hunt and peck to type on your keyboard? You can instead use Gboard’s glide typing feature. Instead of lifting your finger off each key and tapping the next one, you can just move it from one key to the next. For example, to type “Hello,” hold down the H key, then press the e key, the l key, the l key again, and finally the o key. As you move your finger across the keyboard, a blue line will follow it from one key to the next.
Keyboard Toolbar for iOS
The iOS version of Gboard has a handy toolbar just above the keyboard with buttons to cut, copy, paste, and format text with bold, italics, or an underline.
Keyboard Toolbar for Android
The Android version has the same ways to format, but it looks different. When you choose a piece of text, a menu bar appears at the top with options to format, cut, copy, paste, or select all.
Voice Typing With iOS
Feel like talking instead of typing? Both the iOS and Android versions of the app let you do that, though the Android version makes it easier. In the iOS version, press and hold the space bar to turn on the mic. Gboard opens a different Google app that listens to what you say. When you’re done, you’re taken back to Gboard, where the text you spoke appears.
Voice Typing With Android
Tap the microphone icon on the Android version and speak your text. It will appear as you say it.
Translations
The Android version also has translation built in. Tap the Google icon to bring up the toolbar, then tap the icon in the middle. Pick the language you want to learn. When you type something into the translation field, it gets translated into the language you choose.
Customize the Toolbar
You can even change the toolbar in the Android version. If you tap on the Google icon, the toolbar will show up. Then tap the icon with three dots (). You can now add icons to the toolbar or take icons off of it.
Move Text
One of the most useful icons is the one that lets you select text. Using the arrow keys is more precise than using your finger to move the selection left, right, up, or down. The text you chose can then be cut or copied.
Gboard is an effective and feature-rich alternative to the built-in keyboard on both iOS and Android devices, though it is a bit more effective and feature-rich on the Android side.