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The best smartphone keyboard can now recognise doodled emojis

Google has updated its most triumphant Gboard app to offer hand-drawn emoji recognition and improved prediction skills.

The update will enable users to scrawl, for example, a cat and see it suggest into the grinning kitty emoji, as it eliminates other possibilities.

Related: Android O

This is thanks to the talents of the AI-powered Quick, Draw! web game. The tool users artificial intelligence to make sense of even the crappiest drawings, so you won’t need to worry too much about your sketching abilities. Check it out in the GIF below.

Gboard

The other improvement mentioned by Google today is the ability to predict entire phrases, rather than just the next word.

For example, Google says if you type “looking forward,” Gboard will now suggest “to it”.

Again, this is an AI-based feature thanks to Google’s ever-improving ability to understand natural language. Google says this will help users “up your texts per minute.”

Finally, Google says Gboard now offers more options from the built-in Google search, making it easier to share results in any app.

Google says: “In addition, on a card, you can click through to go to Maps, call a business, or watch a YouTube video. Just press the G or arrow->magnifying glass in the suggestion strip to start searching.”

The changes are coming to Android first with an iOS update, presumably coming in the near future.

Are you a Gboard loyalist? Share your favourite features in the comments section below.

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