gboard: Google to scrap this Gboard feature – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Gboard is a popular keyboard that is full of useful features and also offers a comfortable typing experience. However, the company is now considering removing a feature from Gboard. The tech giant has confirmed that it will scrap the ‘Minis’ stickers from Gboard.
The company introduced Minis in Gboard in 2018. The feature captures a selfie and then creates a customised set of stickers based on your appearance. The feature is quite similar to Bitmoji, but it has its own artistic styles. Later in 2018, Google built on the feature with a third pack of ‘Emoji’ style stickers.

Now, the company is pulling the plug on ‘Minis’. The app is also showing a message which reads, “Minis will be going away soon”.
The message only appears when you have Minis set up and you are actively using the customised stickers. Speaking to 9to5Google, Google said, “Gboard “Minis” won’t disappear immediately, but rather around the end of October. A specific date was not provided.”
Recently, Google updated its Gboard app with a new material design. The new features include Emoji Kitchen stickers, Smart Compose features and improved clipboard suggestions.
The Smart Compose feature was already there in Gboard but was only limited to Google Pixel smartphones. Now, it is being extended to non-Pixel devices as well. For those unaware, the Smart Compose is a predictive text feature that we are already familiar with from Gmail.
Another feature that Gboard will receive is the new Emoji Kitchen feature that brings new emojis. As of now, Google has confirmed goat, owl, strawberry and loaf of bread. Google has suggested that it will include around 1500 new stickers this fall.