Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google is rolling out an updated Assistant Voice Typing layout with the latest Gboard beta.
- It appears as a new toolbar with a microphone button, a backspace key, and buttons to open the keyboard and change language.
- The toolbar also suggests voice commands for actions you might want to perform when you stop speaking.
Google has started testing a new Assistant Voice Typing experience for the Gboard app with its latest beta release. The new voice typing UI appears as a toolbar above the keyboard that makes it easier for users to start and stop voice typing, minimize the keyboard, and view supported voice commands.
The new Assistant Voice Typing UI appears to be rolling out to some beta testers with version 15.0.03.717871796 of the Gboard app. It’s available on several of our devices and, as you can see in the attached screenshots, Gboard shows a two-page tutorial highlighting how it works.
In the new layout, the Assistant Voice Typing UI appears as a bar at the top of the keyboard. It has a microphone button featuring Google’s colors to the right that you can use to start and stop voice typing. It also has buttons to minimize the keyboard, return to the previous toolbar page, and view supported voice commands.
The space between the four buttons shows a “Speak now” prompt when Assistant Voice Typing is ready and listening for your commands or a “Paused” prompt when you hit the microphone button and stop voice typing. Additionally, the toolbar offers voice command suggestions in this space when voice typing is active and you stop speaking.
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
When you minimize the keyboard, the toolbar replaces the minimize button with a backspace key and the ‘i’ button with a shortcut to reopen the full keyboard layout. As mentioned earlier, the new Assistant Voice Typing layout is currently available to a few beta testers. It could roll out to more users with a future update.
Along with the new UI, Google is improving Gboard’s Assistant Voice Typing experience with support for writing tools. We got our first look at the feature in a teardown of the Gboard app earlier today, which revealed six new voice commands that will help you rewrite texts with your voice.
