Google announces glitzy new Gboard 2.0 for iOS

It has been long enough since Google released its own keyboard app for both Android and iOS to see that the features on both OSes have been comparably the same. That is, until yesterday.

Google has now released a hugely improved version of the Gboard for iOS called Gboard 2.0. This version of Gboard adds a barrage of customization options for the keyboard ranging from the background, keys and surprisingly, even the glide swipe trail.

Prior to this release, the Android version of Gboard had a notable advantage as far as design choices and customizability go. Customization of Gboard on iOS only had the option of choosing a default light or default dark theme. Users also had the option of picking a custom background from a limited set of Landscape backgrounds.

Gboard 2.0 for iOS changes everything, as briefly detailed below:

Background: Even though Android users have had this option for ages, iOS users can finally choose a background other than the default black and white. In total, there are 28 color variations, which include gradient themes.

Keys: As you might have observed, Gboard has a subtle distinction between letter and non-letter keys, like backspace, enter, period, capslock et al.  In Gboard 2.0, users can enable a background or outline color for each of those categories with both elements, along with text being themeable to one of 28 new colors.

Key popups: The background and text color can be customized.

Glide typing: With Gboard 2.0, users can select the swipe trail color as well as thickness. There is also a quirky option of setting swipe trail sparkles that feature multi-colored “G” logos.

In the Gboard 2.0 app, there features a pencil edit option at the bottom corner of every theme. A preview keyboard appears above the interface when customizing so users can see the changes they’ve applied in real-time. To apply your chosen theme combination, tap the done button at the top-right.

Gboard 2.0 for iOS is available now from the App Store.

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