Google Keyboard gets update to 2.0; app brings a little KitKat to your phone

Android users not rockin' the Nexus 5 might be feeling a little jealousy about not having the latest and greatest Android OS build on their phone. On the other hand, if you own, say, the HTC One, you know that you're going to get that confectionery OS build on your device, so any jealousy should be short-lived. In addition, Android 4.4 was said to be designed to work on low memory models, including those with just 512MB of RAM. That compares with the 2GB to 3GB of RAM found on today's high-end Android devices. In theory, this means that older Android phones could receive the Android 4.4 update. But the ultimate decision about which phones will be updated lies with the carriers and most won't want to spend the money to test the new Android build on phones that are on the way out.

But if your Android handset runs Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or higher, you can have a little piece of KitKat on your Android phone right now, by installing the updated Google Keyboard 2.0 from the Google Play Store. The holo blue UI is gone, replaced by the black and grey look of Android 4.4. Among the changes, punctuation is laid out differently across different screen sizes (4 inches, 7 inches and 10 inches). You can swipe over the space bar to generate a space instead of lifting up your finger, and if your phone supports it, you can type more expressive emoji instead of  basic smiley faces.

Want some of the same features on your keyboard that Nexus 5 owners are rocking? Update to the new Google Keyboard app by clicking on the sourcelink.


source: GoogleKeyboard via AndroidCentral