Should I Use My Android Keyboard, SwiftKey or Gboard?
The upcoming SwiftKey Android update finally adds the long-requested sliding cursor control, and this makes us question our commitment to Gboard once again. Before we get into the pros and cons of these two main Android keyboards, let’s take a quick look at this new SwiftKey feature.
The new sliding cursor feature is available in the SwiftKey beta app and should be coming to the stable version of Android soon. After that, all you have to do is press and hold the space bar and then slide your finger across the screen to move the cursor.
A nifty twist – and a clear bump when compared to its main competitor, Gboard – SwiftKey users can move their cursor across their entire keyboard, not just using the spacebar (as in Gboard). Just make sure you don’t accidentally swipe too early and change the SwiftKey language by mistake.
The cursor move feature should make it easier to switch to Microsoft’s SwiftKey from Google’s Gboard. However, this does not necessarily mean that you should change your Android keyboard app to SwiftKey. Both keyboard apps have their pros and cons and offer quite different capabilities that one might be the best option for you depending on what you want your keyboard app to be.
Which Android keyboard app should you use?
Gboard syncs automatically with your Google account, which allows some apps to send copied text or links to your desktop via Chrome. It also supports many sets of stickers from the Google Play store. You have direct keyboard access to Google search, automatic GIF and emoji search, and instant word prediction based on the same smart text data Google collects from all your apps and devices. Basically, if you’re already well versed in the Google ecosystem, Gboard seems logical to you.
SwiftKey, on the other hand, is much more focused on typing. Overall, it supports fewer languages (478 versus 678 in Gboard), but the keyboard layout for each language can be customized. SwiftKey also makes it easier to auto-complete words and sentences (Gboard only supports one-word autocomplete), and SwiftKey uses simple slide controls to find punctuation and other characters. In contrast, Gboard forces you to dig through menus to find a simple exclamation point. And my personal favorite feature of SwiftKey is how it lets you copy and paste multiple items to the clipboard.
Unfortunately, SwiftKey only supports built-in sticker packs and you have to manually search for emojis and GIFs. But at least it has more custom themes than Gboard, and you can switch between Google search or Bing search. You can also log in with your Microsoft or Google account for better text prediction (although in my experience Gboard tends to be more accurate).
If you’re looking for a specific recommendation, use Gboard if you use a lot of GIFs and emojis in your posts, or if you like to optimize everything with Google. SwiftKey , however, will write better. The typing experience is simply better than Gboard, and you have more control over layout, shortcuts, and other settings.
And if you’re in the wild, you’ll borrow a page from my book: install both, then swap them as needed. (Yes, I really do that: SwiftKey during business hours and Gboard the rest of the time). Punctuation, shortcuts and GIFs / emojis aside, the apps don’t differ much in terms of basic functionality and controls, and sometimes I even forget who I’m using at the moment.