Gboard is the keyboard most Android phones already have, and its voice typing is genuinely good at one job: turning the words you speak into the words on screen. EkkoBoard is also a full Android keyboard, but it is built around what happens after the words: polishing them, editing them and drafting new content from a spoken brief.
The short answer
Choose EkkoBoard if you want your keyboard to draft, rewrite and polish from spoken instructions on any Android phone. Choose Gboard if you want free, capable transcription of what you say, with its smartest voice features reserved for recent Pixel phones.
| What matters | EkkoBoard | Gboard |
|---|---|---|
| Works on | Any Android phone that can install apps from Google Play. Set EkkoBoard as your keyboard and it works in every app.Last checked: Oct 6, 2026 · EkkoBoard; developer-confirmed details | Standard voice typing works on most Android phones. Advanced voice typing needs a Pixel 6 or later. Rambler, the Gemini-powered mode, needs a Pixel 11 series device.Last checked: Oct 6, 2026 · Official source · Official source |
| What your voice can do | AI-polished dictation, plus a separate AI button that drafts new content from a spoken brief and edits your wording by voice.Last checked: Oct 6, 2026 · EkkoBoard; developer-confirmed details | Transcribes what you say. Rambler cleans up rambling speech and rewrites it with voice commands. Writing tools rewrite text you already have with presets like Professional or Shorten. Google's help pages describe cleanup and rewriting, not drafting new content from a brief.Last checked: Oct 6, 2026 · Official source · Official source |
| Spoken languages | Voice typing in 90+ spoken languages.Last checked: Oct 6, 2026 · EkkoBoard; developer-confirmed details | Google publishes no full count and notes talk-to-text does not work with all languages. Rambler is tuned for 11 named languages; advanced voice typing can auto-detect among six.Last checked: Oct 6, 2026 · Official source · Official source |
| Offline and on-device | Your voice is processed by cloud-based models to transcribe, polish and generate text; the site documents no offline mode.Last checked: Oct 6, 2026 · EkkoBoard · Privacy policy | On Pixel 6 and later, advanced voice typing keeps your speech on your device except for the Fix it feature. Rambler keeps basic cleanup, punctuation and capitalization working offline; the full feature set needs a connection.Last checked: Oct 6, 2026 · Official source · Official source |
| Privacy approach | The AI hears only what you dictate. It does not read the conversation or document you are replying to.Last checked: Oct 6, 2026 · EkkoBoard; developer-confirmed details | Google says Rambler's audio and text are processed temporarily, never stored, and deleted once your text is delivered. Writing tools run in a secure, isolated environment on your device or in the cloud.Last checked: Oct 6, 2026 · Official source · Official source |
| Cost | Free to download from Google Play.Last checked: Oct 6, 2026 · EkkoBoard on Google Play | Free. Rambler is subject to usage limits, which Google says are designed to keep the experience consistent for everyone.Last checked: Oct 6, 2026 · Official source |
Where EkkoBoard fits
In EkkoBoard, dictation is one part of the workflow. Tap the mic for AI-polished dictation, or tap the AI button and speak a brief: "Draft a friendly reply asking if the revised design is ready. Don't add a deadline I didn't give you." The draft appears in the app you are already in, and you can keep editing it by voice before you send.
Everything runs in a full keyboard with a toolbar for undo, redo, select all, copy and clipboard, so you never leave the text field to fix something. It works the same on a Samsung, a Motorola or a Pixel, because none of it depends on your phone brand.
Where Gboard fits
Gboard is free, already installed on most Android phones and very good at straightforward transcription. On a Pixel 11, Rambler is a real step beyond word-for-word dictation: it removes filler words, fixes punctuation and lets you reshape a draft with natural voice commands, and it can follow you when you switch languages mid-sentence.
The catch is reach. Rambler is Pixel 11 only and usage-limited, advanced voice typing is Pixel 6 and later, and writing tools run on supported devices in nine listed languages. On most Android phones, Gboard voice typing is the standard mode: accurate transcription of what you said, with spoken punctuation commands.
Try the same task in both
- Dictate a short message word for word and see how much cleanup each keyboard needs.
- Then speak a brief instead: "Write a two-sentence reply confirming Friday at 3 and asking for the agenda." Note which keyboard produces a draft, and which waits for you to dictate every word.
- Check the result in the app where you normally send messages, not in a demo.
- Decide whether transcription alone is enough, or whether you want the keyboard to help with the writing itself.
Whichever you pick, give AI-drafted text a quick read before sending. The keyboard works for you; the words are still yours.