Latest news with #Gboard
Phone Arena
2 days ago
- Phone Arena
Why I like the Pixel's default QWERTY over the iPhone's keyboard
I always set up Gboard on my Pixel handsets the same way every time. I go to Settings > System > Keyboard > On-screen-keyboard > Gboard > Preferences and toggle on the following options: Number row-this leaves a dedicated 1-0 number row at the top of the keyboard, helping me access numbers faster. Emoji switch key-leaves a dedicated key to access emoji. Long press for symbols-this allows me to long-press on a letter key to type symbols and characters without having to switch to a second keyboard. Popup on keypress-typing on a key will result in a popup appearing with that letter character, number, or symbol to confirm that you pressed the key you wanted. Show app icon-allows an app icon for Gboard to show up in the launcher. Sound on keypress, Volume on keypress-I would have the first one toggled on and the second one set to 100%. I always like to hear that clicking sound when I type. I find it easy and fast to find characters, symbols, and numbers with this setup. With iOS, I don't like having to tap the numbers key on the bottom left to open a separate keyboard with number keys and some other keys for characters and symbols. There are also a few symbols that require a second tap to open yet another dedicated keyboard for the plus sign, the "pound" sign, and the equal sign. It seems that there are some who think the iPhone keyboard allows them to type with fewer errors than the Gboard QWERTY on Pixel. Take Reddit user RaistlinQ5 who wrote, "So I've always thought the Google keyboard isn't all that great. I always seem to hit the wrong key when typing. But if I use an iPhone keyboard, it seems like when using that keyboard, I don't have as many typing errors." How i like to set up Gboard on my Pixel phone. | Image credit-PhoneArena Others do not agree. One Redditor wrote, "Disagree. Coming from iOS, Google Keyboard on Pixel is far FAR superior." Another said, "I agree. I just moved to an iPhone and the keyboard is awful. Forever making errors and the keyboard always suggests the wrong words. It also loves to override any words I type that are not in its dictionary." And yet another comment was left in favor of the Pixel's virtual QWERTY. That comment said, "Strongly agree! The iOS keyboard was driving me insane!!! It honestly was one of my main reasons why I switched. Google's keyboard is light years better." At left, the settings to duplicate my QWERTY. At right, toggle switches for autoaspace after punctuation and auto-capitalization, | Image credit-PhoneArena If neither the iPhone or Pixel QWERTY is your cup of tea, the one third-party typing app that received some positive feedback by both iOS and Android users was Swiftkey. I've used the Android version of the app before and always returned to Gboard. Still, your experience could be different than mine. You can install Swiftkey for iOS by tapping on this link and the Android version of the keyboard can be installed by tapping here. The problem is that many Pixel users don't know what features their default virtual QWERTY has. Some on Reddit were complaining about features available on Swiftkey that they thought weren't found on the Pixel's Gboard QWERTY such as autospace after punctuation and auto-capitalization. However, those features are certainly found on the Pixel's Gboard keyboard. You have to enable them first. To toggle them on, open the QWERTY keyboard on your Pixel. You can do this by pretending to send a text. Once the keyboard appears on the screen, look for the gear icon and tap it. Once you've pressed the gear icon, tap on Text correction. You'll find toggles for both Autospace after punctuation, and Auto-capitalization. So before you decide that you need a new QWERTY for your Pixel, you should find out what it can do first before you complain what it can't do. Secure your connection now at a bargain price! We may earn a commission if you make a purchase Check Out The Offer
Android Authority
3 days ago
- Android Authority
Gboard could make it much easier to type and edit even without touching your phone (APK Teardown)
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority TL;DR Google reveals more clues about its improved voice typing feature in Gboard. While Gboard already allows using basic voice commands for editing text, the improved feature could use AI for smarter edits. This feature could be powered by Gemini Nano, allowing for quick, on-device editing with voice. As Google readies the upcoming Pixel 10 series of phones, we're witnessing increasingly more signs hinting at contextual uses of AI across many of its apps with Magic Cues. For Gboard specifically, we saw Google's half-baked Writing Tools that use AI to help you compose or improve text in any app. Now, we're seeing more details about improved voice typing features in the Gboard app that utilize generative AI for editing. Authority Insights story on Android Authority. Discover You're reading anstory on Android Authority. Discover Authority Insights for more exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage you won't find anywhere else. An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release. We spotted more mentions of a Gboard feature, currently labelled 'SmartEdit,' which would allow editing text using voice. Gboard already lets you edit text using voice commands, such as 'edit' or 'delete,' followed by a portion of the text. However, the improved feature could rely on AI to understand more diverse commands and implement them more intelligently. We found references to SmartEdit in the Gboard app for Android (version 15.6.2 beta). The feature is currently unavailable, but Google has added several examples of voice commands that can be used to edit text. The images above show several different examples of the ways you will be able to use Gboard's voice typing to find and edit specific bits in the text. Google appears to label complex commands as 'detailed edits,' which will require more processing abilities than simple edits like deleting a particular word. Based on what we have seen, Gboard should be able to insert or edit specific words mid-text and also perform actions such as sending a message. Since these detailed commands require sifting through the text extensively, the use of AI is vital here. Although we could activate the examples, we couldn't activate and use the feature ourselves, making it challenging to assess how much we can modify these commands. Since AI powers the feature — and most likely, Gemini Nano models, the accuracy with which Gboard will be able to interpret such requests remains to be tested. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Android Authority
3 days ago
- Android Authority
Gboard could return to basics with a numpad-inspired layout for certain languages (APK teardown)
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority TL;DR Google is working on a compact keyboard layout as part of Gboard for typing in Hindi. This new layout places characters from the Hindi alphabet across a grid of ten buttons. Each button can hold up to five characters, which can be inserted by swiping in their respective directions. Google has been working to bring several new changes to the Gboard app on Android, empowering it with more AI chops. More recently, we've learned about a new, more concise keyboard layout in Gboard for typing in the Hindi language. The new design places characters of the Hindi alphabet in a grid across ten buttons, with multiple adjacent vowels or consonants placed on a single button. Authority Insights story on Android Authority. Discover You're reading anstory on Android Authority. Discover Authority Insights for more exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage you won't find anywhere else. An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release. We found the new layout in the Gboard app for Android, version 15.6.2 beta. However, the feature is not currently available to users. Each button in the new layout accommodates up to five characters. To type on this, you need to tap the button and swipe in the direction of the character you want to insert without lifting your finger. This way of typing can be compared to typing on a feature phone with a numpad keyboard. While we don't immediately see Gboard automatically matching characters to form words (as on a T9 keyboard), suggestions appear at the top of the keyboard. Notably, the ending consonants of the Hindi alphabet are currently missing from the ten-button layout and might be placed on a separate page. One reason to believe that is the right-pointing triangle button (▶) on the keyboard, which might reveal the remaining characters. Unfortunately, it doesn't work at the moment, and we, therefore, can't confirm the functionality just yet. Finally, the new layout adds to the previous four ways to type in Hindi on Gboard and does not replace them, which would be a relief for anyone who doesn't like it. Curiously, Gboard doesn't offer a T9-style keyboard layout for English. You can type in English using popular layouts like QWERTY, DVORAK, and even handwriting, but the simpler T9-style keyboard is missing from Gboard for English. The demand for this layout is likely very small for English, but some users would have appreciated the choice. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
WIRED
06-07-2025
- WIRED
How to Use Voice Typing on Your Phone
When it's easier to talk than type, Android and iOS have you covered. All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links. With the rise of AI assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Gemini, we're all now well used to talking to our gadgets. But what you might not realize is that you can actually talk to type anywhere that a text-input box pops up. This can come in handy in a variety of situations—perhaps you've got your hands full of groceries, or you're holding onto a subway rail. Maybe your phone is out of reach, or the screen's cracked and keyboard doesn't work as well as it should. Or maybe being hunched over a tiny screen to compose a message is just not your idea of fun. That is where voice typing can help. It's not an either-or situation either: you can switch between typing and talking as you need. Here's how to do it on Android and iOS, any time the keyboard pops up—whether it's your email app or a web form. Android On Pixel phones and many other Android handsets, the default keyboard is Gboard. When it pops up on screen, tap the mic icon (far right) to enable voice typing, and you can start talking. For more screen real estate, tap the downward arrow to the left of the mic icon. What you say next is going to depend on which app you're in and what you're doing. You can use 'delete' to erase the last word and 'clear all' to wipe the input box fully. The 'next' and 'previous' commands will move you between text fields, while emojis can be spoken out as well (like 'thumbs up emoji'). When your text looks good, you'll be prompted what to say next: Keep an eye on the suggestions under the input box. If you're in a messaging app then you'll typically be prompted to say 'send,' whereas if you're looking through a batch of photos for something you might have to say 'search.' Voice typing in action on Android. Courtesy of David Nield Tap the small 'i' icon on the left of the toolbar if you need more prompts about the voice commands you can use. If you want to keep on using voice typing in other input boxes and across other apps until you turn it off, double-tap the mic icon. If voice typing doesn't work, check that it's enabled (it should be, by default): From Settings on Android, pick System > Keyboard > On-screen keyboard > Gboard > Voice typing. The same screen lets you enable offline access for the feature, and enable or disable automatic punctuation breaks as you talk. The voice typing process is similar on other types of Android handset, though it might not be identical. On Galaxy phones, the Samsung Keyboard is the default, and with this keyboard the mic icon you need to tap is down in the lower left corner. To make sure voice typing is an option, from Settings choose General management > Samsung keyboard > Voice input. iOS Over on the iPhone, you've also got access to voice typing wherever you need it. The default keyboard is the one supplied by Apple, though you can also use alternatives such as Gboard if you wish. The keyboard shows up whenever text needs to be entered, and you can tap the mic button (bottom right) to start talking instead of typing. You can use a variety of commands while you're talking. Just name an emoji (like 'heart emoji') or say the name of a punctuation symbol (such as 'exclamation mark') to insert the character at the current cursor position. It's possible to split text into blocks using the 'new line' and 'new paragraph' commands, which is handy if you're composing a long message. You can also say 'undo' or 'redo' to go backwards or forwards in terms of the words you've dictated. The cursor shows a blue mic on iOS when you're dictating. Courtesy of David Nield Your iPhone also lets you use commands like 'select sentence' and 'delete paragraph' to give you more control over the blocks of text you're working with. Sometimes the precision isn't as good as it could be, but you should be able to compose a large part of most of your messages through this method. However, the iPhone doesn't give you an easy way to submit the text you've entered, like Android does with the 'send' or 'search' commands—though in some cases searches will be automatically triggered once you stop talking. Generally, you need to stop voice dictation (by tapping the mic button or saying 'stop dictation'), and then tap on the button for sending or submitting your text. This should be set up by default with iOS, but if it's not working, open up General > Keyboard from iOS Settings, and make sure the Enable Dictation toggle switch is turned on. The other options here, such as automatic punctuation, are applied whether you're speaking out or typing your text.
Android Authority
28-06-2025
- Android Authority
I turned off all AI features on my Pixel phone — and instantly regretted it
Robert Triggs / Android Authority I had this realization — epiphany of sorts — that while we've become more conscious of generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini, we often use AI much more than we actively perceive. Every app you touch on your phone has some kind of smarts and automation baked in. It's constantly learning from your patterns and improving in the background. That nudged me to experiment with becoming more intentional about these AI additions and disable them for a cleaner look and feel. No smart suggestions I mindlessly use, no Assistant to speak to, and no on-device smarts. All turned off. I enthusiastically planned to do this for a week, but I soon realized I was being too optimistic. What sounded like a solid digital detox plan turned into a quiet reckoning: my phone is a well-oiled system with subtle automations I don't think I can live without anymore. How smart do you like your smartphone to be? 0 votes I like my phone as basic as possible NaN % I like to balance — smart where needed NaN % Give me all the AI, everywhere NaN % This is the most digitally impaired I've felt Andy Walker / Android Authority I imagined turning off smart features across all my main apps would feel like going back to the good-old Nokia bar phone days. Nostalgia made that seem enticing — something I thought I'd actually want — but practically, it was far from rosy. The most frustrated I got during my time off AI was with Gboard. Without swipe typing, predictive text, and autocorrect — the very features we all love to meme about — my entire phone felt broken. The number and variety of misspellings I could come up with made me question my self-worth as a writer. And fixing each one of them made me a painfully slow typist. Group chats would often move on from a topic by the time I'd finished typing my take — total Internet Explorer–style late blooming. In Google Photos, edits became much more manual. While I enjoy playing with contrast and tone and whatnot myself, I really missed the one-tap fixes that helped with lighting and gave me a quick, clean version to share on Instagram or at least build on. More importantly, I couldn't use any of the smart editing features you get a Pixel for — Magic Editor, Photo Unblur, Best Take. Without them, it was like going back to the cave days of modern tech (2010, I mean). Ryan Haines / Android Authority Oh, and I had to completely disable Gemini/Google Assistant. I honestly felt like Joaquin Phoenix in Her, sorely missing his AI companion. I couldn't ask it to control smart home devices or help with Android Auto — everything became manual. I had to now type out my reminders, and changing music in the car turned into a dangerously distracting chore. That's when I noticed how often I absentmindedly said 'Ok Google' while walking around the house. I guess we've all been in the Her era all along without even realizing it. Quality Inferiority of life Andy Walker / Android Authority Beyond the big-ticket features I lost, I found myself stumbling without all the little ones, too. Without Pixel's Live Captions, I couldn't watch videos in noisy places and ended up saving them for later — not to consume more intentionally, but out of frustration. Gmail and Google Messages no longer suggested quick replies or helped finish my sentences. I had to type out full messages and emails like it was 2015. I noticed how often I absentmindedly said 'Ok Google' while walking around the house. I guess we've all been in the Her era all along without even noticing it. Maps stopped telling me when to leave home based on traffic, and it didn't remember my parking spot either. Once, I forgot where I'd parked because I didn't save the location manually. Google Photos stopped resurfacing old memories during the day — no surprise moments with friends, family, or random mountain dogs I clicked a decade ago. Not getting to see dog photos randomly is the lowest kind of inferiority in life. The good side of un-intelligification Ryan Whitwam / Android Authority Besides sparing me time to coin my own words, the lack of AI on my phone did help in a few ways. You must've already guessed the first one — battery life benefits. I couldn't track it rigorously since I had limited time with this setup, but the gains were in the 10–15% range, which was noticeably better than usual. More importantly, the phone just felt quieter. No unnecessary alerts, no screen lighting up every half hour with nudges I didn't need. It felt more analog — like a tool I controlled, not something that subconsciously controlled me. I picked it up when I needed to, not because I was tempted to see what was waiting for me. But was it enough to keep me on this routine? You already know the answer to this, too. I want all the AI magic back — right now Stephen Schenck / Android Authority That was me last weekend, soon after I started the experiment. The lack of AI smarts was annoying at first, then it got frustrating enough to slow down my regular day. Simple things took twice the time, especially without Gboard's assistive typing. And that's when it hit me that AI isn't just Gemini or the ChatGPT app. It's ambient. It works in the background, often silently, making tiny decisions and smoothing over rough edges without drawing attention to itself. Quiet enough to fade in the background — until you turn it all off. AI is ambient. It works in the background, often silently, making tiny decisions and smoothing over rough edges without drawing attention to itself. Hopefully, this little try-out gives you a good idea of why it's not worth trying for yourself. Convenience is the point of AI, and I'm all for it. Like I said, I lasted far fewer days than I'd planned. I remembered the exact sequence in which I turned everything off and flicked it all back on just as quickly. I want Photos to clean up distracting objects in my shots. I want the Assistant to find my playlist while I'm driving. And I absolutely cannot live without Gboard's smarts. So yes, I'm back to using my smart-phone the way it was meant to be — smartly.
