Google today hid a fairly significant change in the new release of its Google app for iOS: the Gboard third-party keyboard.
As long as you’re running the latest version of the app, you should be able to enable the keyboard without even having the separate — and still existing — Gboard app on your iOS device, as MacStories reported earlier today. You can do that by going to Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards > Add New Keyboard… and selecting Google. Then you’ll want to provide the keyboard with full access.
From there, you’ll be able to get the benefits of Gboard in any app. That means swiping to type, predictions about what you’ll type next, an integrated Google Search box that’s accessible from the G logo in the top left corner of the keyboard, GIF search, and more.
Above: The default appearance of Gboard on iOS.
Of course, you can always disable the keyboard and use the standard-issue iOS keyboard or another third-party keyboard by tapping the globe icon near the bottom left corner of Gboard.
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Google introduced Gboard exclusively for iOS in August and brought it to Android last month.
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