Gboard
| Developer(s) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial release | May 12, 2016 (iOS) December 12, 2016 (Android) |
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| Stable release(s) [±] | |||||||
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| Development status | Active | ||||||
| Operating system | iOS, Android | ||||||
| License | Proprietary | ||||||
Gboard is a virtual keyboard app developed by Google for Android and iOS 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, including web results 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 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.
History[edit]
Gboard was first launched on the iOS operating system in May 2016,[4] followed by a release on Android in December 2016, debuting as a major update for the already-established Google Keyboard app.[5][6][7]
Features[edit]
Gboard is a virtual keyboard app. It features Google Search, including web results and predictive answers, easy searching and sharing of GIF and emoji content, and a predictive typing engine suggesting the next word depending on context.[4][5] At its May 2016 launch on iOS, Gboard only supported the English language,[4] 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".[5]
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.[8] Another new update in February 2017 added Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Polish, Romanian, 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".[9][10] 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.[11][12]
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.[13][14]
Reception[edit]
Nathan Olivarez-Giles of The Wall Street Journal praised the keyboard, particularly the integrated Google search feature. However, he 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" sent him to the web browser rather than an app for movie tickets installed on his phone. Olivarez-Giles also praised the predictive typing engine, stating that it "blows past most competitors" and "it gets smarter with use". He also discovered that Gboard "cleverly suggests emojis as you type words". He did note the lack of a one-handed mode, as well as lack of options for changing color or size of keys, writing that "If you’re looking to customize a keyboard, Gboard isn’t for you."[15]
References[edit]
- ^ "Gboard". APKMirror. Android Police. June 28, 2017. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
- ^ "Gboard (Android Wear)". APKMirror. Android Police. January 24, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
- ^ "Gboard". App Store. Apple Inc. July 13, 2017. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
- ^ a b c Perez, Sarah (May 12, 2016). "Google launches Gboard, an iOS keyboard that lets you search without a browser". TechCrunch. AOL. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
- ^ a b c Lee, Reena (December 16, 2016). "Gboard, now available for Android". The Keyword Google Blog. Google. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
- ^ Whitwam, Ryan (December 17, 2016). "[Update: Official] Google Keyboard is now Gboard with v6.0 update—includes integrated search, dedicated number row, multiple active languages, and more [APK Download]". Android Police. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
- ^ Robertson, Adi (December 12, 2016). "Google’s great iOS keyboard is now on Android". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
- ^ Patel, Rajan (August 4, 2016). "Olá Gboard: new languages, personal keyboards and more". The Keyword Google Blog. Google. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
- ^ Ni, Alan (February 23, 2017). "Gboard for iPhone gets an upgrade". The Keyword Google Blog. Google. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
- ^ Vincent, James (February 23, 2017). "Google upgrades its iPhone keyboard with voice dictation and 15 new languages". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
- ^ Martonik, Andrew (April 25, 2017). "Google dramatically improves support for Indian languages across Translate, Gboard and more". Android Central. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
- ^ Baxi, Abhishek. "Google improves support for Indian languages in Google Translate, Gboard, and more". Android Authority. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
- ^ Statt, Nick (June 12, 2017). "Gboard for Android now recognizes hand-drawn emoji and anticipates your next phrase". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
- ^ Cheng, Roger (June 12, 2017). "Google's Gboard smart keyboard gets new bells and whistles". CNET. CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
- ^ Olivarez-Giles, Nathan (May 12, 2016). "Review: Gboard Adds Google’s Search Box to iPhone Keyboards". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company. Retrieved January 8, 2017. (subscription required)
