Google's Gboard keyboard app is receiving an update. Among the new features included in the said update are new emojis, voice typing, Google Doodles and fifteen new languages.
The new update will roll out on Thursday with the voice typing tool perhaps the most interesting of all the new features. The integrated voice-typing feature will allow users to simply dictate their messages which will be transcribed into text. All they have to do is simply press on the mic button long enough to activate the feature before speaking. According to Venture Beat, this feature takes advantage of the fact that word rate error is fast becoming a thing of the past thanks to advancements in voice recognition.
The popular Google Doodles has also made it to the Gboard. The "G" icon on the keyboard will be animated whenever Google reveals a customized Doodle. For more fun, Google also gave the Gboard access to more emojis. Users can easily search for any of the new emojis from the iOS 10.2 update which include bacon, pancakes, gorilla, a face palm and a redesigned peach.
Lastly, the Gboard update will add 15 more languages to its library. Some of the new languages are Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Latin American Spanish, Russian, Swedish, and Turkish. According to Mac World, the new features will only work for those with the latest 1.3 version of the Gboard.
The Gboard app was released back in May last year initially as a third-party iOS keyboard before it was made available for Android devices as well. The app placed the Google icon on the keyboard, hence the Gboard moniker. This move allowed the users to search on Google without leaving or switching apps. The app is particularly helpful when conversing with someone through text or email. The user can simply tap on the Google icon and type keywords in the search box then send the result directly to the other party without the annoyance of shuffling through apps. Other features of the first Gboard were Glide Typing and easy GIF and emoji searching.
