According to The Verge, Google is making a third-party keyboard for the iPhone.
Google is already the default search engine in Apple’s iOS browser, Safari, but adding a keyboard with a search option would allow Google to expand even further through iOS.
The move isn’t hugely surprising – if anything, it’s interesting that Google hasn’t already created a keyboard for iOS – third-party offerings have been available since the keyboard was opened up in iOS 8 back in 2014.
The report says that a Google keyboard has been in development for months, citing “people familiar with the matter.”
The keyboard will also make use of gesture-based typing, similar to Google’s Android keyboard which lets users swipe their finger across letters before predicting the intended word. Of course, gesture-based typing is also available via existing third-party apps on iOS, such as Swype [Review].
The Verge also believes it to have Google web search built in, plus distinct buttons for pictures and GIF searches – presumably powered by Google’s own image search.
It’s currently unclear whether Google plans to release the keyboard any time soon, if at all.