Newsletter
The beta version of Google’s keyboard application, Gboard, has been updated. This update, which has the designation Gboard 6.4 beta, will allow users that are still running on Android Marshmallow and Nougat-equipped devices to use Gboard’s incognito mode on their smartphones. The incognito mode was only previously available on devices running the beta version of Android O developer preview. Similar to the incognito mode found in the Chrome browser, the similarly-named option in Gboard prevents the software from recording the input or keystrokes for purposes like machine learning. Google, in its Research Blog, has previously detailed that it is recording user input to determine what common mistakes users make when typing on their keyboards, and the likeliness that the person will type a certain word. Once the app is updated, this feature can be activated once the user opens an incognito tab in the version 59 and newer of the Chrome browser.
While the incognito mode is the key feature of the Gboard 6.4 beta, there are also a few more, albeit much minor, improvements that the search giant made to its keyboard application. First is the design change over at the Theme page of the application’s settings. The user will now see a grid display for its theme options like Custom, Colors, and Landscapes as opposed to the carousel-like display the app currently uses for its theming options. The “Show More” option has also been moved from the top of the theme options to the bottom of every option.
In addition, Google has added a GIF option directly under the keyboard’s search field. In the previous beta version of the keyboard app, the search giant combined GIF results with other search results and now, the process of going straight to the GIF search results is a lot easier. Since it is the beta version of the application, it is important to point out that there might be some features included here that will not make it to the stable version. For those enrolled in the beta program, it’s now possible to update the Gboard app through the Play Store to test the latest features the search giant brings to its machine learning-powered keyboard.
