Google Keyboard hits Play Store, for Android 4.0 and up

By Trevor Mogg June 6, 2013

If the keyboard on your Android device just doesn’t cut it, if it’s had you on countless occasions spouting off expletives like there’s no tomorrow, then help may be at hand – provided it’s not the Nexus keyboard which is the cause of your typing woes, that is.

Google has just released its Google Keyboard app – previously only found on its Nexus devices – for those with handsets and tablets running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and above.

Available now from Google Play, the free alternative offers gesture typing (allowing you to ‘glide’ through the letters to make a word), voice dictation, automatic error correction, next-word suggestions and current-word completions. The 15-megabyte app also loads up with dictionaries for 26 languages and incorporates keyboard layouts for a slew of countries.

While the app is currently only available in Play stores in English-speaking locations, the Mountain View company says it’ll be rolling it out in more Play stores around the world soon.

Of course, Google Keyboard isn’t the only virtual keyboard available to users frustrated with their handset’s offering. SwiftKey, for example, has proved a popular alternative with many Android smartphone owners, though it does come with a $3.99 price tag. Also, look out for the launch of Minuum in the coming months, a different kind of virtual keyboard that its creators say allows for “delightfully fast sloppy typing.”

Editors' Recommendations

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

Mobile

Google Play Store helps find the apps invading your privacy

Instagram app on the Google Play Store on an Android smartphone.

Google has implemented a feature that requires app makers to disclose what data their apps are taking from users. Starting today, Android users will be able to see specific information about their apps' data collection through the Google Play Store. The data is accessible in the Play Store via the "Data Safety" tab listed in the information section for all apps.

With Google's announcement that the feature's rollout is live, the company notes that not all apps will be showing what privacy data they collect immediately. App makers have until July 20, 2022, to provide the Play Store with privacy information, making the feature something of a gradual rollout. It's likely that apps that take more types of data (like social media apps) will take longer to post the required info due to the sheer number of data points they collect when compared to something simpler such as an offline game.

Mobile

Google just banned call-recording apps from the Play Store

google-pixel-3a-xl-phone-call

Google will soon ban third-party call-recording apps from the Play Store. First highlighted by a developer of an affected app, Google made the announcement in a Google Play policy update that becomes effective on May 11. Once in force, developers who want to submit apps to the Play Store will no longer be able to use the Android Accessibility API to record calls, killing the utility of call-recording apps on Android.

Google hasn't allowed third-party call recording on Android officially for years now. It's no surprise as call recording is a legal minefield, with different countries and even states having their own rules. If you're using a first-party phone app, you'll notice that this feature appears or disappears depending on where your phone thinks you are, and third-party recording apps hacking onto the company Accessibility API were one way to get around this.

Mobile

Google launches Switch to Android app to chirping crickets

Switch to Android app displaying Step 2 of 4 for transferring data from iPhone to new Android device.

Google has quietly launched the Switch to Android app on the App Store to the sound of chirping crickets. As reported by TechCrunch, the tech giant rolled out the app on Monday to make it easier for users who want to switch to an Android device, whether they want to try out Android for the first time or they just miss having one of the best Android phones in their hand. It was a quiet launch, so nobody paid any mind to it -- until now.

The Switch to Android website gives you steps on how to copy all the data in your iPhone -- contacts, photos, videos, calendar events, etc. -- and send them to the new Android device of your choice. It also instructs you to turn off iMessage, so you'll be able to see important text messages once you open your new device, and request Apple to transfer a copy of your data from iCloud. The app works in a similar manner to Move to iOS, which Apple launched in 2015 to ease users' transition from Android to iPhone.