Autofill has been a major feature of Android since the 8.0 Oreo release, but its implementation has always felt a bit sloppy and unreliable. In Android 11, it seems like Google is definitely ready to improve autofill in a pretty obvious way – by using the keyboard.
A developer site that went live the past few days details about an add-on to Android 11 that Google did not announce earlier. With the latest version of Android, keyboard apps will be able to integrate with the autofill feature of the platform, and press the autofill UI to float across a text field to the keyboard itself.
There are also major implications for this feature. In its current state, Android has to recognize a password field in apps and browsers, and sometimes it can be quite difficult to fall over. Google’s documentation explains that the IME (input method editor) would be responsible for a “suggestion request.” In essence, an on-screen icon can revoke your password manager’s password options.
Notably, this new implementation for autofill also seems to be testing on Android 11 with Gboard. We’ve observed the interface below a few times that pulls out Google’s own password manager, and enters a username and password of the app on your screen. This functionality has been available for a while while using Chrome, but in Android 11 we see it on other apps because our own Abner Li could capture it in the screenshot below. Dylan Roussel recorded the same on his device. Our friends are around Android Policealso got a screenshot showing 1Password in the suggestion strip from Gboard. Personally, I have not succeeded in the same.
If this all sounds familiar, it’s because this is the method Apple has been using on iOS for a while. Simply put: it’s a better workflow for password managers and autofill, and personally I’m glad it’s coming to Android.
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