Gboard for iOS updated with haptic feedback on iPhone 7 and later

While the Taptic Engine has been a staple of flagship iPhones since 2016, most iOS keyboards — including the system default — do not support haptic feedback. Google today updated Gboard with support for haptics on every key press.

Version 1.40 of Gboard adds a new “Enable haptic feedback on key press” option in the Keyboard settings menu. When turned on, every tap in the Google keyboard is accompanied by a brief vibration.

This includes every letter, number, and symbol, as well as when accessing Search, YouTube, Google Maps, or contacts from the suggestions row above the keyboard. Haptic feedback is available on iPhone 7 and later phones.

For some users, physical feedback serves as a complement to audible clicks and provides a guarantee that a tap was registered by the device. It is especially useful when using the swipe keyboard, with feedback present as users start and finish swiping.

Haptic feedback when typing is a staple on Android, with Gboard on Google’s operating system letting users customize the vibration strength.

The default iOS keyboard does not feature haptics, while third-party apps like Microsoft-owned SwitfKey only offer “limited Haptic Feedback” when long-pressing and opening the emoji panel. Other keyboards in the App Store that have this functionality are paid.

Today’s update also adds language support for Lao and Mongolian, and optimizes “Gboard assets to reduce app size. Other features in Gboard besides fast access to search include multilingual typing, custom themes, and various stickers.