Google's Gboard now shows new text-scanning tool for more users

Gboard, which is one of the most popular keyboards out there and the default one on most Android phones, is getting a new nifty tool. Previously available to beta testers, the Scan Text option in Gboard is now rolling out to more users in some regions. Essentially, this is a tool that uses your phone’s camera to detect text written anywhere and inserts the same into a text field. That totally eliminates the need to type something that is already written out on your phone.

Android enthusiast Mishaal Rahman posted on X, highlighting a broader rollout of the Scan Text mode in Gboard. He even attached some screenshots showing how the feature works. A new “Scan Text” option is available in Gboard’s extended features available when you tap the four squares on the left side. Tapping this option will ask you for camera permissions. After you allow Gboard to use your phone’s camera, it will open a viewfinder that you can point at a book, a poster, or any other surface that has some text written over it. The camera will detect the text and insert it into a text field automatically when you tap the screen or use 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. Have heard from several people that this is now rolling 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

At the time of writing this story, Scan Text was absent from my Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, which means it is rolling out incrementally. It was first spotted on a beta version of Gboard back in November. According to Rahman, this tool “may not have reached everyone yet.” Google has also not confirmed the rollout of the feature yet, so there may be a few days before an official announcement is in.

While Gboard may be the latest one to give the option to scan text, it is certainly not the first. Its close rival Samsung Keyboard has been offering a similar functionality since the rollout of One UI 5. Also available as part of One UI 6.1, the Extract Text option lets you extract text from real-world things with some text written over them.

For now — or at least going by the screenshots Rahman posted, the Scan Text tool in Gboard seems to be recognising text written in the English language. There is no information on whether the tool readily comes with support for other languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, and Gujarati, among major Indian languages. We may have a clear picture when the rollout expands to more users, or better Gboard makes the announcement with full details.