Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us? Google has added an interesting new feature to its Gboard Android keyboard app. It’s called floating keyboard, and it may just be the answer to your problems if your swanky new bezel-less smartphone almost slips out your hand as you furiously type on the keyboard. It’s also great for anyone who feels the keyboard is never quite where it needs to be, due to a big screen, small fingers, or a time-sapping combination of both. Provided your app has been updated to version 7.6 or later, you should be able to find this handy feature right now. Exactly as the name suggests, it undocks the keyboard from the bottom edge of the screen and lets you move it around freely, putting it exactly where your fingers want to be. Why would you want to use this over a one-handed keyboard, where the keys are edged over to one side of the screen? It’s particularly suited to the new generation of smartphones with very small chin bezels. These areas gave us something to grab onto and steady the phone in our hand when typing, but now they’re much smaller, it’s easier to fumble the phone when typing — a potentially expensive mistake. Place the floating keyboard higher up the screen, and the chances of this happening are reduced. Want to give it a try? If you don’t already have Gboard installed on your Android phone, go and get it now, because it’s superior to most other keyboard apps out there. To find the floating keyboard mode, you have to go digging into some menus. Tap the Google “G” icon on the keyboard, then the three dots for further options, found on the far left of the top menu that appears. An icon for the floating keyboard should be one of the large buttons where the keyboard used to be. Tap it, and the keyboard will float on the screen. To return the keyboard to its docked position, just reverse the instructions and tap the floating keyboard icon again. If you want to make access even quicker, tap and hold the floating keyboard icon and drag it on to the quick access row, where it replaces one of the other options already there. If the keyboard on your phone screen always feels a little awkward to type on, or you’re worried about dropping your phone, give this feature a try — it may be exactly what you’ve been looking for. Google announced at its Search On event on Wednesday that it’s bringing the smartphone functionality of its Google Lens to the desktop version of Chrome. Lens is an app that helps identify objects, and it’s installed by default in many Android phones. At some point in “the coming months,” Chrome will receive an update to incorporate Lens-style searching into Chrome. Instead of the old highlight, then right-click, then “search Google for” three-step process, you can search a webpage directly with Lens.   Google Pay is one of the most popular mobile payment apps around, used by more than 150 million people in 30 countries every month. Launched in 2018, Google Pay merged two other popular payment apps, Android Pay and Google Wallet, bringing the functionality of both apps into one handy new app that allowed you to pay for stuff as well as make peer-to-peer payments. Apple has quietly launched a tool that lets you automatically transfer all of the photos and videos stored on your iCloud account to Google Photos. This will be especially useful if you decide to ditch your Apple-made smartphone for an Android alternative and need to move your media to your new device. Upgrade your lifestyleDigital Trends helps readers keep tabs on the fast-paced world of tech with all the latest news, fun product reviews, insightful editorials, and one-of-a-kind sneak peeks.

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us? Google has added an interesting new feature to its Gboard Android keyboard app. It’s called floating keyboard, and it may just be the answer to your problems if your swanky new bezel-less smartphone almost slips out your hand as you furiously type on the keyboard. It’s also great for anyone who feels the keyboard is never quite where it needs to be, due to a big screen, small fingers, or a time-sapping combination of both. Provided your app has been updated to version 7.6 or later, you should be able to find this handy feature right now. Exactly as the name suggests, it undocks the keyboard from the bottom edge of the screen and lets you move it around freely, putting it exactly where your fingers want to be. Why would you want to use this over a one-handed keyboard, where the keys are edged over to one side of the screen? It’s particularly suited to the new generation of smartphones with very small chin bezels. These areas gave us something to grab onto and steady the phone in our hand when typing, but now they’re much smaller, it’s easier to fumble the phone when typing — a potentially expensive mistake. Place the floating keyboard higher up the screen, and the chances of this happening are reduced. Want to give it a try? If you don’t already have Gboard installed on your Android phone, go and get it now, because it’s superior to most other keyboard apps out there. To find the floating keyboard mode, you have to go digging into some menus. Tap the Google “G” icon on the keyboard, then the three dots for further options, found on the far left of the top menu that appears. An icon for the floating keyboard should be one of the large buttons where the keyboard used to be. Tap it, and the keyboard will float on the screen. To return the keyboard to its docked position, just reverse the instructions and tap the floating keyboard icon again. If you want to make access even quicker, tap and hold the floating keyboard icon and drag it on to the quick access row, where it replaces one of the other options already there. If the keyboard on your phone screen always feels a little awkward to type on, or you’re worried about dropping your phone, give this feature a try — it may be exactly what you’ve been looking for. Google announced at its Search On event on Wednesday that it’s bringing the smartphone functionality of its Google Lens to the desktop version of Chrome. Lens is an app that helps identify objects, and it’s installed by default in many Android phones. At some point in “the coming months,” Chrome will receive an update to incorporate Lens-style searching into Chrome. Instead of the old highlight, then right-click, then “search Google for” three-step process, you can search a webpage directly with Lens.   Google Pay is one of the most popular mobile payment apps around, used by more than 150 million people in 30 countries every month. Launched in 2018, Google Pay merged two other popular payment apps, Android Pay and Google Wallet, bringing the functionality of both apps into one handy new app that allowed you to pay for stuff as well as make peer-to-peer payments. Apple has quietly launched a tool that lets you automatically transfer all of the photos and videos stored on your iCloud account to Google Photos. This will be especially useful if you decide to ditch your Apple-made smartphone for an Android alternative and need to move your media to your new device. Upgrade your lifestyleDigital Trends helps readers keep tabs on the fast-paced world of tech with all the latest news, fun product reviews, insightful editorials, and one-of-a-kind sneak peeks.