If you’re not a fan of tapping away on your phone’s screen, speech-to-text is a handy accessibility feature. Google’sGboard appconverts your spoken words into text for easy messaging. If you’re using a Pixel phone, there’s a handy combo with Gboard andGoogle Assistantthat lets you give more detailed voice commands. Currently, however, turning it on involves a two-step method, but Google seems to be working on streamlining that process.
Frequent tipster AssembleDebug over at X (formerly Twitter) dug into the code of the latest Gboard beta version (v13.8) and found hints about a new feature called “Seamless voice typing.” If enabled, Gboard’s voice typing option will kick in automatically whenever the keyboard pops up.
If this pans out, it could be a godsend for those who love voice typing. Right now, if you’re into voice typing on Gboard or any otherkeyboard appon your device, you have to tap on that microphone icon to summon the voice typing interface and then start chatting away.
With the seamless voice typing option, you’re able to dive into dictation without the hassle of hitting the mic button every single time. According to9to5Google, this feature is an upgrade from the Assistant voice typing toolbar that lurks around in all your apps. When you fire up voice typing, the usual numbers and letters vanish, leaving you with a compact toolbar at the bottom of your screen. That said, you still need to tap the mic icon every time you want to use it, even if you just used it a moment ago.
Although Assistant voice typing is likely to be available only on Pixel phones, seamless voice typing might support speech-to-text on otherAndroid phones, as per 9to5. you may always turn the feature off if it’s not your jam, but it’s pretty cool that Google’s potentially cooking up something to make life easier for voice typing enthusiasts.
This news is based on findings from an APK deep dive, so you might want to approach it with a pinch of salt. There’s no guarantee that it’ll see the light of day because it’s still in the shadows. And, as with all things tech, the code could vanish into thin air at any moment. Even if it does become public, don’t be surprised if there is a major makeover along the way.
