As Cyber Monday was wearing down, Google was already winding up some app updates. A new version of Gboard began rolling out late in the afternoon, and with it comes the long-anticipated handwriting support, meaning we can finally uninstall the separate handwriting keyboard. There are also some tweaks to the emoji picker. As we look to the teardown, there are signs of a new theme system with a few new options for more visual control, a new autospace feature, integration with the Motion Stills app, and more.

What's New

UPDATE: 2017/12/15 12:47PM PDT BY

Official changelog posted

The official changelog has been posted on Gboard's Play Store page. It includes the handwriting support already discussed here. It also mentions Hinglish-style support for 19 more Indian languages and "20 new languages," but then goes on to list 24 (or arguably 25). Seriously, count them. It's possible some of these aren't being counted because they are variations on already-supported languages, but it's not really clear what is meant. This is why we take the time to look closer with these changelogs, there are often old features or inconsistencies.

Continuing with that theme, Google's changelog also mentions suggestions for URL fields and "fast delete" as new features. After fairly rigorous testing against Gboard v6.6, I've seen no differences that suggest either of these are actually new with the latest update. The suggestions in URL fields are actually regular word suggestions, which makes it easier to type in search queries, or perhaps change small parts of a URL if you know that replacing a word will bring up a desired page faster than any other method. Seeing as this can be directly reproduced in a much older version, this feature is either being mentioned well after it was launched, or it may have been initially tested and later enabled remotely. But with that said, I've been seeing these suggestions in regular use for a while, so I think this is just an older addition that's only just now being given a nod in the changelog.

Regarding 'fast delete' feature, there's no discernable change to the behavior of the backspace button. Holding down the button will begin by deleting some individual characters, then going to whole words. There's also a gesture to delete several words at once by dragging to the left from the backspace button, which was added about 18 months ago. Aside from these, nothing else resembling a 'fast delete' function has turned up. Perhaps this is in preparation for something new, but there's no other sign to support that.

tl;dr – This was already a big update with the addition of the handwriting keyboard and some new languages, but that's probably where the real list of additions ends.

Official Changelog: (posted Dec 14, 2017)

  • Handwriting support
  • Suggestions in URL fields
  • Fast delete
  • Hinglish-style support for 19 more Indian languages
  • 20 new languages: Awadhi, Bambara, Bundeli, Emilian-Romagnol, Fulani, Gilaki, Hiligaynon, Jamaican Patois, Kumaoni, Lambadi, Lombard, Madurese, Minangkabau, Mazanderani, Nahuatl, Neapolitan, Norwegian (Nynorsk), Piedmontese, Sadri, Santali (Devanagari and Bengali), Sicilian, Sylheti, Venetian, and Zazaki

Unofficial Changelog: (originally posted Nov 28, 2017)

  • Handwriting keyboard
  • Visual changes to emoji picker