Gboard for iOS Introduces Google Maps, YouTube, and Doodling 'Ink' Tabs Into Keyboard App

Gboard is Google's own keyboard app for iOS devices, and today the company announced that it's integrating Google Maps and YouTube directly within the keyboard. The two new features will be housed behind the "G" button on Gboard, now sitting alongside Google Search.

With Google Maps in Gboard, users can share their location, or another location that they wish to serve as a rendezvous point, and send the address to a contact in Messages. YouTube lets users search and send any YouTube video to friends and family directly from Gboard. There's also a new "Ink" tab that lets users draw pieces of art to share with their contacts.

Outside of the Gboard app, Google also has a Google Maps app for Apple's Messages App Store, which lets users send their location to a friend as an iMessage.

Gboard originally launched in May of 2016, with built-in Google search as its flagship feature, and was later updated with 3D Touch cursor tracking and voice support.

Gboard is one of the main iOS keyboard apps that users can install as an additional keyboard to text with on their iPhone or iPad. Microsoft's SwiftKey is another well-known keyboard app for iOS, which the company has now decided to focus on after recently removing Word Flow from the iOS App Store.

Gboard is available on the iOS App Store for free. [Direct Link]