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Google adds haptic feedback to its iOS keyboard

Google adds haptic feedback to its iOS keyboard

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Every letter press feels more like a real keyboard now

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Gboard iOS
Google’s Gboard for iOS
Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Google is adding haptic feedback to its iOS keyboard today. Version 1.40 of Google’s Gboard, spotted by 9to5Google, includes an option to turn haptic feedback on for recent iPhones dating back to the iPhone 7. It’s a subtle vibration for each key press, and it’s something that Apple doesn’t offer with its own built-in iOS keyboard.

Most third-party keyboards also don’t offer haptic feedback for key presses, and the ones that do often cost money. Every letter press, symbol, and number provides a tiny vibration in Google’s Gboard update, and it feels good if you’re used to typing on physical keyboards every day. You’ll need to try it out for a few hours to see if it’s annoying or useful, though.

Google hasn’t enabled this feature by default, so you’ll need to head into the Gboard app itself to “enable haptic feedback on key press.” Google’s latest Gboard update also includes additional language support for Mongolian and Lao, and some optimization to reduce the overall app size. You can download Gboard from Apple’s App Store.