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Google's Gboard smart keyboard gets new bells and whistles

The new features, available first to Android users, reportedly include the ability to draw an emoji and phrase suggestions.

Roger Cheng Former Executive Editor / Head of News
Roger Cheng (he/him/his) was the executive editor in charge of CNET News, managing everything from daily breaking news to in-depth investigative packages. Prior to this, he was on the telecommunications beat and wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal for nearly a decade and got his start writing and laying out pages at a local paper in Southern California. He's a devoted Trojan alum and thinks sleep is the perfect -- if unattainable -- hobby for a parent.
Expertise Mobile, 5G, Big Tech, Social Media Credentials
  • SABEW Best in Business 2011 Award for Breaking News Coverage, Eddie Award in 2020 for 5G coverage, runner-up National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Award for culture analysis.
Roger Cheng
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Google

Google's smart keyboard app is getting a little smarter. 

Gboard, an app for both Android and iOS, will get new features including the ability to draw your own emoji, as well as auto-complete a phrase. It's part of the Google's broader initiative to use machine learning to make its apps smarter. 

The updates don't show up on the Google Play Store page yet, but are supposed to roll out to Android users first. 

A spokeswoman for Google confirmed the features are being rolled out, and should be fully available in the next day or so.