Bold claim: Gboard could soon reclaim the throne by finally adding a cursor, something that nearly every iPhone user has enjoyed for years. I’m not shy about praising Google’s keyboard—it's evolved from a basic AOSP option into the Android standard-bearer, and I often recommend it above all others. Now, a new twist aims to fix a flaw I’ve noticed since day one: a cursor that’s easy to move without the usual finger gymnastics. And yes, the inspiration comes from iOS.
Android Authority recently uncovered a hidden “cursor mode” tucked inside the latest Gboard beta APK. In practice, the idea is simple yet powerful: instead of sliding your finger along the text with the space bar to nudge the cursor, you switch out the keyboard for a virtual trackpad. With this, you can place the cursor anywhere on the screen—potentially even outside the text field in the current build.
If you’ve spent time with an iPhone recently, you’ll recognize this approach. Apple introduced cursor control during the era of 3D Touch, and later, with iOS 12 (2018), the feature became standard for precise text editing via spacebar hold. It’s fast, intuitive, and remarkably accurate, especially when you’re correcting mistakes after fast typing.
Personally, I still prefer Gboard on Android in most respects—the experience overall often beats iOS. But when it comes to cursor movement, Apple’s implementation is exceptionally quick. The iPhone method lets you position the cursor with milliseconds of delay, which matters a lot when you’re editing on a small screen or with busy keyboards. That speed advantage is something Google will need to match or surpass for this feature to feel truly compelling on Android.
If Google rolls this out widely, the comparison against Apple’s version will be interesting. The core idea—spacebar-triggered cursor control, replacement of keys with a touchpad, and unrestricted cursor movement—lines up with what Apple does. The notable difference today is the current ability for Google’s cursor to jump outside the text field. That may be a quirky behavior that settles before a broad launch.
With this change, it’s hard to imagine another virtual keyboard unseating Gboard from the Android group’s top spot soon. However, we’ll likely have to wait for a proper rollout. After Google finally delivered the much-anticipated bottom address bar in Chrome for Android last year, this latest move hints that Google isn’t afraid to borrow a proven idea from its competitors when it sees value.
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