How to add the Pixel 11's Rambler feature to your Android phone right now

One of the few things that AI models are surprisingly good at is speech-to-text. A local AI model can reliably transcribe speech, and even format it for you. You’ll find dozens of third-party apps, ranging from free to $10/month subscriptions that offer to do a version of this.

But Google took this to another level by integrating a polished version of this functionality directly into Gboard, appropriately named Rambler. That is, if you own a Pixel 11 series smartphone. You talk normally, and your Pixel automatically removes unnecessary filler words, adds correct punctuation, and even automatically fixes speech mistakes. If only Google didn’t gatekeep this to its most expensive, latest smartphones, right? If only it didn’t require the latest Tensor chip for all this processing.

Turns out, it doesn’t, and thanks to passionate Android developers like Akshay Kadam, you can use Rambler on any Android smartphone; no root required. All you need is the PixelBoard app APK from GitHub, and you’re good to go.

How to install and activate Rambler on any Android smartphone

There are a couple of ways to install the PixelBoard app. The easiest option is to install the PixelBoard APK. It shows up as a separate keyboard, a version of Gboard, but with Rambler built-in. There’s a way to integrate it directly into Gboard as well, and an option to enable auto-updates. If you’re a developer, you can also sideload it via ADB.

But we will focus on the easiest option first: installing the PixelBoard APK from the GitHub page. Open the PixelBoard GitHub profile and tap the Direct Download link. This will download the APK file on your smartphone. Once it’s downloaded, tap the file in the notifications panel or locate it in your file manager of choice. Then tap the Install button to install the app. Once installed, tap the Open button.

If you’re unable to install the file, your Android device might be blocking sideloaded apps. First, disable the protection features. If you’re using a Samsung phone, go to Settings -> Security and Privacy -> Auto Blocker and disable the feature.

We’ll now set up the app as a new default keyboard. From the onboarding screen, tap the Enable in Settings button. Here, enable the PixelBoard app.

Next, tap the Select input method button, and tap on PixelBoard. The app is now the default keyboard. You can open the PixelBoard app to customize the settings and layout options to match your Gboard layout.

The app enables the Rambler feature by default. But if you don’t see it, go to Settings -> Advanced Settings and tap Enable Advanced Voice Typing. Next, go to Voice Typing, and switch to the Rambler option.

Everything you can do using Rambler in PixelBoard

Once the feature is activated, bring up the keyboard and tap the Microphone button in the top-right corner. You’ll notice it’s new because it has the AI sparkle next to the microphone.

And now, well, just start rambling on. The suggestions bar will turn into a glowing multicolor visualization. Because Rambler doesn’t offer live transcription (that’s the nature of AI post-processing), tap the Done button to stop the dictation process. In a second or two, PixelBoard will paste in all the transcribed text in the field.

Because this is an intelligent version of speech-to-text, you can mix dictation along with requests, and it will figure out what is what. For example, you can say something like, “I will send the report by 3 PM on Friday, no, actually 4 PM,” and it will be transcribed as “I will send the report by 4 PM on Friday.”

In my testing, I found the Rambler feature to be surprisingly coherent. It handled the punctuation and instructions flawlessly, even with my slightly thick Indian accent. The only place it fumbled was brand names. I had to enunciate things like “Pixel 9a” and even “Rambler” to make sure it got it.

PixelBoard also integrates AI writing features from the Pixel series. In the Menu, you will find a new Writing Tools button. Highlight some text, tap the Writing Tools button, and you will see suggestions to proofread, rephrase, or shorten the text. You can also tap the Describe your edit button to edit the text with a custom prompt.

How to update PixelBoard (manually and automatically)

As this is a new, developing project, you’ll want to keep an eye out for updates. For instance, only the latest version of PixelBoard enables Rambler automatically on install. Updating is just as simple here. When an update comes along on the GitHub page, just download and install the APK to update the current app.

If you want an auto-updating route, you’ll need a more complex setup with Morphe Manager. Morphe is a patching tool for Android APK files. You load a base Gboard APK file, then pull in the PixelBoard patch file, and the app combines them to create a clone of Gboard. This can then be automatically updated and patched again as needed. In fact, when it comes to patches, a popular Gboard patch from jasonwu1994 already includes the Rambler feature.

For most users, though (including myself), reinstalling the APK whenever a major update arrives is a better idea.

Don’t like Gboard? Try these alternatives

If you’re not a fan of Gboard, try out SwiftKey’s free AI Voice feature. SwiftKey is a popular Gboard alternative, and the AI Voice feature works on any Android phone. Plus, because it comes from the Play Store, you don’t need to sideload any apps or worry about the update process. SwiftKey’s AI Voice feature listens to your voice, transcribes it, formats the text with proper punctuation, and fixes grammatical mistakes.

If you want a completely native, free, and open-source option, take a look at the FUTO keyboard (my personal choice for a Gboard alternative). It goes a step further and lets you choose a local speech-to-text AI model that transcribes and processes your speech on a device; no servers needed.