Google's new iPhone keyboard puts search, emoji and GIFs front and center

With Gboard, You'll never need to leave your messaging app to search Google again.
By Raymond Wong  on 
Google's new iPhone keyboard puts search, emoji and GIFs front and center
Google's new Gboard keyboard for iOS. Credit: raymond wong/mashable

It must be iPhone keyboard season or something because it seems like everybody but Apple is hellbent on making a better keyboard.

Microsoft's Word Flow keyboard released last month makes one-handed texting easier, Giphy Keys is arguably the best GIF keyboard and now Google's got its own Gboard keyboard.

Gboard isn't simply Google Keyboard ported over to iOS. It's chock full of Google features, like built-in Google search functionality.

Tapping the Google icon in Gboard opens up a Google search bar. From there, you can search for anything and instantly share them within an app like Messager or WhatsApp without needing to leave the app.

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The keyboard also makes it easier to search for GIFS and emojis. Compared to the iPhone's default keyboard, where you have to scroll through pages and pages to find the right emoji under a category, you can simply type the emoji you want with Gboard.

Other messaging apps like Line have had better stickers and emoji support for ages, but this is a good step forward.

Gboard also supports Swype-like texting so you can slide your finger from letter to letter to string together words quicker.

We've been trying out Gboard and so far it seems to be a solid keyboard replacement for the default iOS keyboard. You can download it from the App Store here and give it a try for yourself.

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.


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Raymond Wong

Raymond Wong is Mashable's Senior Tech Correspondent. He reviews gadgets and tech toys and analyzes the tech industry. Raymond's also a bit of a camera geek, gamer, and fine chocolate lover. Before arriving at Mashable, he was the Deputy Editor of NBC Universal's tech publication DVICE. His writing has appeared on G4TV, BGR, Yahoo and Ubergizmo, to name a few. You can follow Raymond on Twitter @raywongy or Instagram @sourlemons.


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