Gboard 2.0 brings advanced background, key, and glide theming to iOS [Gallery]

Gboard for Android and iOS maintain relative feature parity on key functionality, but on occasion one app surpasses the other. Gboard 2.0 for iOS today adds a slew of customization options for the keyboard ranging from backgrounds, keys, and even the glide swipe trail.

Previously, customization on Gboard iOS was less advanced than Android, with users primarily able to select between a default light or dark theme. There was also an option to pick a custom background or pre-select from several “Landscape” wallpapers.

With Gboard 2.0, users can now customize four areas of the keyboard: Background, Keys, Key popups, and Glide typing.

Background: Like on Android, users can finally choose a background other than the default of light or dark. There are 28 color variants in total, including gradient themes.

Keys: Gboard distinguishes between letter keys and “non-text keys,” like backspace, enter, period, caps, etc. For each category, users can enable a background or border, with both of those elements — along with text — themeable to one of the 28 colors.

Key popups: Options include background and text color

Glide typing: Users can select a swipe trail color, as well as the thickness with a new slider. There is also a whimsical ability to set “Swipe trail sparkles” that feature tiny multi-colored “G” logos.

The new Gboard features a pencil edit icon in the bottom-right corner of every theme. When customizing, a preview keyboard will appear so that users can see changes applied in real-time. A “Done” bottom in the top-right will apply and save the look. All your custom creations appear in a carousel at the top on the theme page.

Google notes that “not all theme options are applicable for some Chinese and Japanese keyboard layouts.” In contrast, the main visual customizations on Android are key borders, backgrounds, height, and enabling/disabling key popups. However, users can set keypress sound volume, vibration strength, and key long press delay to the millisecond.

Gboard 2.0 for iOS is available now from the App Store.