Last month Google released Gboard, a new keyboard app for iOS devices in the U.S. that lets you search and send information, GIFs, emojis and more. Today it has released it in several countries, including UK, Australia, Canada and Ireland and will be available in India soon. In addition to GIF and emoji support, the keyboard also lets you use Glide Typing by sliding your finger from key to key instead of tapping. It has English US, English UK, English AU, English CA, and English IN, but Google is planning to add lots more languages in future versions.
Highlights of Google Gboard for iPhone
- Search and send anything from Google: Nearby stores and restaurants, Videos and images, Weather forecasts, News and articles, Sports scores and anything else you’d search on Google
- GIFs – Search GIFs for the best reaction
- Emoji Search – Find the perfect emoji, faster
- Glide Typing — Type faster by sliding your finger from letter to letter
You can also search and share contacts without opening the contacts app. Switch on “contacts search” in Gboard search settings to enable. You can also move the cursor easily by sliding your finger on the space bar. When you do a search, Gboard sends your query to Google’s web servers so Google can process your query and send you search results.
It also sends anonymous statistics to Google to help diagnose problems when the app crashes and to let them know which features are used most often, but it doesn’t send the words you type since they are stored in the phone.
Download Gboard (Free) – iPhone and iPad
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[Update: Gboard is also available in Canada and Ireland. Google says that it has postponed the roll out for India, which is expected next week.]