Gemini App Will Automatically Open Your Keyboard On Android

Google is implementing a small change wherein your keyboard will automatically open when the Gemini app is launched on Android.

When you open the Gemini app, your keyboard will immediately launch to let you start typing a prompt.

Since Gemini’s homepage is mostly just a greeting, there’s no loss in functionality with this change. You still have one-tap access — albeit higher up on the screen — to start voice input or Gemini Live, while the ‘plus’ menu remains at the left. The Chats & Gems history is still at the top along with the model switcher and account menu for settings.

This is a nice quality-of-life improvement that saves you a step/tap since keyboard entry is a big reason people open the app. Similarly, direct voice input is possible by long-pressing your phone’s power button or the corner swipe for the Gemini overlay.

We’re starting to see Gemini’s new keyboard behavior with the latest beta version (16.4.36) of the Google app. This change is not yet available in the stable channel.

Speaking of the app, the “Talk Live about this” (on supported devices) shortcut will also appear above the “Ask Gemini” field when you upload images or PDF files. It’s an alternative to using the Gemini overlay.