Gboard for Android Can Now Recognise Emojis You Draw, Offer Phrase Suggestions

Google’s keyboard app Gboard for Android has got an update bringing several new features. These include phrase suggestions, improved in-place search, and an interesting emoji handwriting feature. These features are available version Gboard v6.3 for Android.

The first new feature is handwriting support for emojis. You can now draw your desired emoji on the keyboard, and the app will recognise it and throw suggestions based on it. In the emoji search box, there is now a handwriting icon to draw emoji directly onto the screen.

Furthermore, there is a new feature called phrase suggestions that automatically throws recommendations at you based on what you type in the app. For example, when you you type ‘What do you think’, you will be prompted with 'about this?’. Gboard already has a search feature that lets you search Google for just about anything. With this update, Google now offers multiple results, making it easier to search and share in any app.

“When you’re searching in the keyboard, we’ll now offer multiple results for you to browse through, making it easier to search and share in any app. In addition, on a card, you can click through to go to Maps, call a business, or watch a YouTube video. Just press the G or arrow->magnifying glass in the suggestion strip to start searching,” Reena Lee, Product Manager, Gboard notes in its blog.

Lastly, Gboard now supports more than 200 language varieties, and has also added suggestions and gesture typing for Azerbaijani (Iran), Dhivehi, French (Belgium), Hawaiian, Maori and Samoan languages, and simple keyboards so you can type and text in Dzongkha, Ewe, Navajo, Tsonga, and K'iche'.

A relatively minor update to Gboard for iOS - version 1.4.5 - brings Vietnamese language support, bug fixes and improvements, and a new typing conversion feature. Gboard on iOS can now do math and unit conversions in-app. For example, typing 91+25 or 5kg to grams will give you relevant results, eradicating the need to open a calculator or any other app for conversions.

You can download the latest versions of iOS and Android from App Store and Google Play Store for free right away.