The Pixel 10 Pro’s new voice typing is wild and has changed the way I use my phone

I started using Google’s Gboard keyboard long before I made the switch to Android. Even as a third-party keyboard on an iPhone, I found it better than the native iOS typing experience. With Gboard on Android – and more specifically on its own Pixel devices – Google has consistently added new features and to this day I consider it the best in its class (don’t ask me to use an iOS keyboard, please). However, Gboard’s most impressive feature isn’t tapping the keys. Instead, I opt for voice typing whenever possible, and Gboard’s voice typing has been good for so long that it’s easy to take for granted. But Google has improved itself in a major way with a brand new voice typing command that absolutely blew my mind: you can now edit your text with the sound of your voice, and it works incredibly well.

Recently I was typing a short message for a friend using my voice. I dictated a few sentences, and after a brief moment where I paused to consider whether I wanted to say anything else, a suggestion appeared at the top of the keyboard. “Next time say ‘Change… to…’,” it said. I had never seen this prompt before, so of course I had to try it out. There’s no way this is working, I thought to myself. I indicated what I wanted to change, and Gboard did that flawlessly. Okay, again I thought: this definitely doesn’t work consistently. I tried again and again, and Gboard kept proving me wrong.

It turns out I’ve barely scratched the surface in my use of Gboard, and it’s much more powerful and feature-packed than I realized. According to Google’s support documentationthere’s a slew of commands exclusive to newer Pixel devices. Some of the more advanced features require a Pixel 8 or newer, while the newest features require a Pixel 9 or newer.

Before my new discovery, I used some of Gboard’s simpler yet impressive commands. The most common for me has always been ‘Send’, which allows you to dictate your text and send it to the recipient with this simple one-word command. I also used ‘Clear’ – which deletes the last sentence you wrote – ‘Delete last word’ and ‘Clear all’. These are all pretty simple commands, but they’re super useful once you get used to them.

Shortly after I heard about this “Change [text]”, I tried to remember to use other, more advanced voice commands. There’s a whole list of these commands in the Gboard app; you just have to tap the information button to find it. Now I’m wondering if some of the people I text” will try the “Spell” command. I often get messages that are clearly voice dictated, and my name is spelled “Steven” instead of “Stephen.” This command allows my friends to simply say, “Set Steven as STEPHEN.” Obviously this is just a fun example for me, but I understand that this is really useful for us voice typers.

You can even use all of Google’s latest AI-powered writing tools, all from the sound of your voice. This obviously requires a Pixel 9 or newer (though we tend to see these kinds of features trickle down to older devices), as many AI features do, but using your voice to rephrase a tricky sentence (“Make my message clearer.”) or proofread that email to your boss (“Proofread this.”) feels like a superpower.

Some commands have been around for a while, others are newer. Either I’m paying more attention now, or (more likely) Google is doing a better job at bringing out these types of features when I need them. Either way, I’ve really enjoyed using the advanced commands more regularly.

As good as Gboard is, there is always room for improvement in the beautiful world of software, and this app is no exception. If I had to pick one quality of life improvement to add, I’d make the voice commands work on previously typed text. Let’s say you’ve typed part of your message or dictated something and the microphone turns off, but you want to add more. When you turn the microphone back on, the commands don’t seem to work on the text that’s already there. I was only able to get it to work with the text produced during the current speech session. Again, not a huge deal, but this addition would take us one step closer to perfection.

I’ve just gotten to the end and I’m just now realizing how ironic it is to have my fingers doing all this work writing this article. I could have just used my new favorite superpower.