Gboard adds ‘Flick input sensitivity’ setting, but it’s not for swipe typing

Gboard for Android recently introduced a setting called “Flick input sensitivity” for Japanese users, and not swipe/glide typing.

In Gboard settings, going to “Preferences” reveals the new “Flick input sensitivity” option at the very bottom. It lets you set a “Sensitivity level for sliding input” with five increments: Low, Mid-low, Normal, Mid-high, or High.

Despite the general description, we’ve confirmed under the hood that this control is not for swipe typing. (Additionally, there’s no difference when gliding between the five levels.)

Rather, it’s for those with a Japanese keyboard set and use “Flick input.” Gboard would be wise to just show that preference toggle if a supported language has been added. The wide appearance might just be during the beta and change ahead of a stable launch.

We spotted this Flick input sensitivity setting rolled out with version 12.0.07.457705062, which is the current beta, of Gboard. This feature looks to have been added after version 11.8. It’s live on Pixel and Samsung devices we checked running Android 11 and newer today. 

More on Gboard:

• Gboard themes now tint the navigation bar on more Android devices
• Emoji Kitchen for Gboard: Full list of emojis
• Gboard’s split keyboard also works on the Microsoft Surface Duo
• Gboard now rolling out split keyboard for foldables in beta

Dylan Roussel contributed to this article.