Published May 29, 2026, 6:01 AM EDT Although Gboard is nowhere close to being perfect, it's my favorite keyboard app on Android. I never thought about replacing Gboard with another keyboard app . This attitude hurt me, as I was unaware of the new and interesting features Gboard and its rivals were launching. This is one major reason I never enjoyed typing on my Android phone. I didn't know which Gboard shortcuts to use to type faster and make it less boring. I regret that, because Gboard had all those useful shortcuts for a long time. All I needed was some intent to explore every nook and corner of the keyboard app. It's all in the past now. I have finally found hidden Gboard shortcuts — and they changed how I type on my Android phone. Related Hold the period key If you hold the period key on the Gboard keyboard app, it'll reveal symbols like the parentheses, colon, semicolon, exclamation mark, and more. Before I found this trick, I used to add these symbols the old way.…