The first thing I do with a new Samsung Galaxy phone is download Gboard—Google’s mobile keyboard. There’s little argument that Gboard is the superior option, but Samsung’s own keyboard is so much worse that it saddens me to think that many owners of these phones don’t even know they can just swap it out for something better.
Samsung already admitted defeat once, and it was the right call
Samsung can pick its fight, apparently
In 2025, we learned that the Samsung S25 family of phones would ship without Samsung Messages. At the time, responding to Android Authority, Samsung said:
“With the close collaboration between Google and Samsung, we have opted to migrate all services to Google Messages and are sunsetting Samsung Messages. It’s no longer available in the PlayStore; however, those who chose to utilize Samsung Messages are still able to do so. We believe that the added functionality of RCS messaging on Google Messages creates an enhanced user experience for both Android-to-Android messaging and across platforms.”
In short, Samsung made the smart choice and realized that it wasn’t going to wrest people away from the better, more universally adopted messaging app. It’s the same lesson it learned before with Bixby, which is still around but stands no chance against Google Gemini.
This month, Samsung put the final nail in the coffin for Messages. Now, it’s time for Samsung to take a good, long look at itself again and realize its default keyboard is just a waste of resources.
Samsung’s keyboard lags behind Gboard in the ways that actually matter
It’s about the fundamentals
On paper, Samsung’s in-house Android keyboard should be good. It’s integrated into One UI, you can customize it, and it’s functional for basic typing. The thing it’s supposed to do. So yes, you can get along just fine with the default keyboard from Samsung.
The problem is that if you use Google’s Gboard for just a minute you’ll immediately realize that it’s more comfortable, more accurate, and easier to parse. There’s just no comparison in the thought that went into the design between the two.
By integrating the numeric buttons into the top typing row and maximizing the size of the keys, Gboard’s minimalist approach makes for a more pleasant keyboard overall.
Another issue that I’ve run into, and that I see others complain about, is the predictive text engine. Honestly, with the Samsung keyboard I simply switch it off. It’s completely useless in my experience, whereas Gboard always seems to predict the word I want to use next in both of my common languages.
The feature gap isn’t closing—it’s getting wider
Even if Samsung solved the usability, accuracy, and prediction issues I’ve experienced, its keyboard would still be behind.
Because Gboard is integrated into Google’s cloud systems. This means that your typing style and prediction data are synced across your devices. There’s also no contest when it comes to the accuracy and speed of voice typing, with Google’s technology simply working flawlessly regardless of how thick my accent is.
You can easily customize the features that you want by dragging those options to the bar above the keyboard.
While the Samsung keyboard can also be customized to an extent, Gboard makes it such a low-friction process that you’ll actually want to do it.
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Users are already voting with their thumbs
It’s hard to get truly authoritative numbers on how many people ditch the Samsung keyboard for something else. In March 2026 Android Authority ran a reader survey where about 60% of the 1,700 respondents said they switched keyboards. Though not all necessarily use Gboard instead.
What’s more interesting to me is that readers commenting on that article were only discovering then they had the option to change keyboards at all!
If Samsung can’t or won’t make its smartphone keyboard good enough to compete with Gboard, it should do the same thing it did with its messaging app and simply make Gboard the default. Spend those resources elsewhere. One UI has come a long way and is a good take on Android, but the keyboard is a primary interface and you need to get it right.
Imagine you had an amazing laptop, but the keyboard was awful. It wouldn’t matter how good the rest of the laptop was, because using it is a chore. So, Samsung, please just retire your keyboard. If for no other reason than millions of people don’t change the default and have no idea it could be so much better.
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