Point, shoot, type: Gboard’s new feature lets you scan text with your camera،
Our smart devices simplify our lives in many ways by helping us with daily tasks, work and play. Since keyboarding is something we all do regularly, it's great to see tech companies also working to make it faster and easier.
According to reliable leaker Mishaal Rahman (via Android Center), Google is introducing a new feature called Scan Text to Gboard. When you use this feature, your camera will open, taking up a little more than half of your screen. A button will appear at the bottom center, along with a tagline that says: “Take a photo of the words to scan.”
Next, Gboard highlights all the text it identifies on the page. You can then insert the content captured from the photo into messages, notes, and other places. The feature also provides a quick overview of what it has copied next to the insert button.
Gboard is rolling out a new “Scan Text” mode that lets you take a photo of text to insert into a text field. Several people have told me that this measure is being rolled out, but it may not have reached everyone yet. Let me know if you see this! pic.twitter.com/7fcs5vEpGT
– Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) February 22, 2024
The new Scan Text feature on Gboard seems similar to Google Lens, but for some users it may be faster and more convenient. Google Lens is a handy smartphone app that uses your camera for tasks like recognizing text and finding objects. However, it's important to know that Gboard's new feature doesn't save the photo to your device. It just captures it temporarily to copy and paste it before deleting it.
Gboard's latest feature is rolling out in the latest Gboard beta (version 13.9), although it is not yet widely available. In recent updates, Gboard also introduced handwriting recognition for tablets and foldable phones. Additionally, the AI-powered Gboard Smart Reply is now compatible with two other messaging apps.
