Skip to main content

Google’s Gboard for iOS update includes YouTube, Maps, and doodling

Google rolled out an update on Monday for its Gboard app on iOS, adding more features to the keyboard. The latest additions include the integration of the YouTube and Maps app, along with a drawing tool.

Released last May for iOS, Gboard is a third-party keyboard app that replaces your default keyboard allowing you to run Google searches. It looks identical to the iOS keyboard, but when downloading Gboard, you see a G button at the top left of the screen. By tapping on it, a Google search bar opens up and results show up underneath the search bar.

Recommended Videos

In the most recent update, Gboard gives users the option to share more information within messages such as location. With Maps now integrated into the keyboard, you can easily send your current address or a local address around you. By tapping on the G button, a variety of places will come up such as where you are located along with businesses or other addresses. Once you choose the preferred one, it will instantly send it within the message window with a link to Maps for others to access.

Next to the Maps button is also a YouTube tab for you to send videos without having to exit the messaging window. While on the tab, you can search for any video through the search bar and results will appear. By swiping to the left, you can pick which video you would like to send by tapping on it and the other person will receive a link to the video in the conversation.

Another feature Google rolled out with the new update is a drawing tool — known as Ink — that lets users doodle straight from the keyboard. By tapping on the emoji button and then the pen icon, a blank canvas will appear along with an array of colors. Tapping on any color and then on the blank screen, you can draw anything you like and then send the work of art through the message window.

In February, Google added 15 new languages such as Croatian, Czech, and Danish, giving users more options to search and share messages. With this new update, Arabic, Farsi, and Hebrew have also been added to the list of languages now supported within the keyboard.

Among the list of Gboard features, the keyboard also offers a one-handed mode, predictive typing, and a gallery of emojis and GIFs to search for. While the current Gboard update only applies to the iPhone, the third-party keyboard app is available for download on both iOS and Android.

Brenda Stolyar
Former Staff Writer, Mobile
Brenda became obsessed with technology after receiving her first Dell computer from her grandpa in the second grade. While…
iOS 26 rumored to go back to basics with four intriguing upgrades
An iPhone 15 Pro Max running iOS 18, showing its home screen.

In just two days from now, Apple will take the stage at WWDC 2025 and showcase the big yearly upgrades for its entire software portfolio. I am quite excited about the platform-wide design update and a few functional changes to iPadOS, especially the one targeting a more macOS-like makeover for the iPad’s software. 

Of course, analysts will be keenly watching for Apple’s next moves with AI, but it seems some of the most dramatic features have been pushed into the next year. Apple can afford some of those delays, as long as the company serves enough meaningful updates to its user base. Apple won’t exactly be running dry on AI, though. 

Read more
5 rumored iOS 26 features we could see at WWDC 2025
An iPhone 16 laying on a shelf with its screen on.

Apple’s upcoming WWDC 2025 showcase is going to be a busy one, even though the expected AI-powered software rebirth may not land until next year. In the meantime, reliable sources have spilled the beans on what we might expect for the next major iOS overhaul. 

Starting with the name, Apple could skip iOS 19 and could go straight from v18 to v26. We are also expecting a design overhaul, something that could draw inspiration from Vision OS. On the functional side, an AI health coach would be a huge draw for fitness enthusiasts. 

Read more
Why you shouldn’t care what number Apple puts on your iPhone’s software
The Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max's screen.

One number may change to another number at an important industry event on June 9, and despite some of the headlines that have been circulating around the news, this succinct explanation of what may happen allows you to guage its real importance. Apparently, Apple may use the WWDC 2025 keynote presentation to announce a change from the expected iOS 19 software’s name to iOS 26, and here’s why you shouldn’t worry about it. 

Many people won’t even know

Read more