Android Authority highlights 4 Android app jobs Gboard can now handle on its own

Android Authority has published a feature making the case that Gboard now covers several everyday Android tasks that once pushed users toward separate utility apps.

In the Sep. 29 article, writer Yash Wate says Google’s keyboard has picked up enough extra tools over time to replace some apps he used to install routinely on a new phone. He specifically names four categories: translation, case conversion, clipboard management, and text expansion.

Four jobs the keyboard can handle

For translation, Wate points to Gboard’s built-in Google Translate tool, which he says lets him translate text directly inside the app where he is chatting instead of bouncing between a messaging app and the standalone Translate app. In the article, he describes that as especially useful for quicker back-and-forth conversations because the translated text appears in the active text field without a separate copy-and-paste step.

For case conversion, the feature highlights a lesser-known Gboard shortcut: selecting text and tapping the Shift key to cycle its capitalization. Wate says repeated taps move selected text through sentence case, all caps, and lowercase, covering a job that dedicated case-conversion apps can also handle.

Clipboard management is another area where the article argues Gboard can stand in for a separate app. Wate writes that Gboard can retain multiple copied items and allows users to pin favorites for later. Because the clipboard lives inside the keyboard, he argues it is easier to access while typing in other apps. The piece also notes an important limit: copied items are automatically deleted after an hour unless they are pinned.