Google Search App for iOS gains Gboard, trending widget & 3D Touch

Google announced that the Google Search app for iOS devices has added GBoard, trending widgets and new 3D Touch functionality.

Gboard

Gboard, the popular Google search keyboard, which Google enabled for iOS as an add-on keyboard back in May 2016, is now available directly within the Google app. Launch the Google search app on your iPhone or iPad to try it out. To access this keyboard, go to your Google app settings to set up Gboard on your device.

Gboard is a really excellent alternative to the iOS default keyboard that lets you type normally but also search for emojis, GIFs, search results and much more, directly in your keyboard.

Trends

A new iOS dashboard widget is now available for those who installed the Google Search App. It is named “Trending on Google,” and it will show you the current Google Trends when you swipe right on your home screen.

To access the widget, use 3D Touch on the app icon or swipe right on your home screen. To install it, swipe right on your home screen, scroll to the bottom, tap “Edit,” then add “Trending on Google.”

3D Touch

Not only can you hard-press, aka 3D Touch, to access Google Trends, you can also hard-press on a web page within the app or search results to find out more. Press on the “G” button at the bottom of the page to instantly start a new search. Or you can hard-press on Search results, Map results and cards in your feed to see a preview of the content before opening it all the way.

You can try these features out using the iOS Google app.

About The Author

Barry Schwartz

Barry Schwartz is Search Engine Land's News Editor and owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on SEM topics.