It took nearly six months, but Google has finally made its wildly popular iOS keyboard available to Android users. Technically, it’s just an update to the existing Google Keyboard app for Android, but it renames the app to “Gboard” and includes all of the features from iOS, so Android users can stop feeling like Google’s neglected stepchildren.
Installing the Update
The Google Keyboard update that will finally bring Gboard to Android is on a staged rollout, which means it won’t be available to all users for at least a few days. You can check Google Keyboard’s Play Store page for updates, but if you don’t want to wait, there’s a faster way.
Just make sure you have “Unknown sources” enabled in Settings under Security, then download the new Google Keyboard APK from the following link. There are two CPU-specific versions, so you’ll need to know which kind of processor you have beforehand.
Once you’ve grabbed the right APK for your device, simply tap the Download complete notification, then press “Install” and your Google Keyboard will be updated with the new Gboard features.
New GBoard Features
To use the new Gboard features, start by tapping the small arrow tab on the left side of the word suggestion bar. From there, select the search icon, type in any search term, then hit “Share” to send the top result from Google search. This works with practically anything—websites, images, videos, and even GIFs—so your keyboard now has the full power of Google search built in.
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