The best alternative keyboards for iPhone and iPad. Alternative keyboards for iPhone Alternative keyboard for iphone
Apple's iOS 8 operating system brings more innovation than the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus gadgets. Significantly enhanced developer options allow you to use smartphones in new ways, giving the impression that these models are significantly better than the iPhone 5S. However, it is worth noting that if you put iOS 8 on a gadget of the previous generation, then it will not be much inferior to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
IOS 8 brought a huge number of new features such as widgets, export panels, Metal technology, Health Kit and much more. In addition, the new Apple operating system has a predictive text input function, QuickType technology, and most importantly, it possibility to use alternative keyboards from third party developers.
We offer a selection of the best alternative keyboards for iOS 8, which, for the most part, have proven themselves well on the Android OS and have been ported to the new Apple operating system.
SwiftKey keyboard for iOS.
Considered one of the smartest keyboards for Android gadgets, it uses a predictive text input system and auto-correction in 60 languages. SwiftKey's work on iOS 8 is no different, from the moment you install the application on your iPhone or iPad, the utility remembers everything you enter and automatically suggests the most frequently used words or phrases. The most popular comment is that users get the impression that the keyboard "guesses" their thoughts and correctly suggests entire sentences from the start of typing the first words.
Fleksy keyboard for iOS.
Fleksy is another popular keyboard, ported from Android to iOS 8, which has a large army of fans, a feature of the application is that you can not even enter the word correctly, making a mistake in each letter, the main thing is that their number and location approximately coincide with the correct word . Keyboard Fleksy built-in gesture system that allows you to type text at high speed. A nice feature of the application is the ability to apply different color schemes and resize the workspace.
Swype keyboard for iOS.
No less popular keyboard for Android and iOS 8, Swype's word input principle is that the user needs to slide across the screen from letter to letter and lift his finger only between different words. The application has a built-in error correction algorithm and a linguistic model of a particular language, in addition, there is an option for predictive text input (word suggestion for the first letters entered). In the Swype keyboard for iOS, the main focus is on the module that analyzes the trajectory of the finger movement across the screen and the word search system in the application database.
Keyboard Nintype or Hipjot (keyboard + notes) for iOS.
Nintype / Hipjot is a keyboard that is similar in input method to the Swype keyboard, but the developers have gone even further in technology and improved it with the ability to use gestures with two hands at the same time, which significantly increases the speed of typing. So the developers claim that if average speed While the Swype keyboard is typing at 50-60 words per minute, the author of Nintype/Hipjot managed to type 120 words per minute, and the average user is able to type at a speed of 70-90 words per minute. The downside of the Nintype/Hipjot keyboard is that only English is supported so far.
Keyboard KuaiBoard (first name QuickBoard) for iOS.
The KuaiBoard keyboard lets you choose from three different text input techniques on iOS gadgets: TextBoard, MeBoard, and LocationBoard. Each method is based on automation, the most repetitive actions, for example, buttons with the most frequently used words and phrases can be added to the screen, in addition, this function can also be used for large text blocks (templates for replying to emails, contacts, and more).
Minuum keyboard for iOS.
The Minuum keyboard is very different from other developments, first of all, in its appearance. The standard QWERTY layout has a compressed vertical view, which significantly reduces the size of the keyboard itself on the screen. This feature perfect for the new big-screen smartphones: iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. With this compressed arrangement of the Minuum keyboard, the number of errors will be much greater, so this problem is compensated by using dictionaries and OCR algorithms.
Keyboard TextExpander for iOS.
Another keyboard with an original principle of operation, designed to automate the process of typing, as quickly as possible. The main method in the TextExpander keyboard is the "autocorrect" function, i.e. the utility allows you to create large dictionaries with abbreviations of words, phrases and large pieces of text, for example, after entering "tyvm", the phrase will be automatically replaced by "Thank you very much". It will take time to create a database of templates, however, subsequently entering text with TextExpander can be the fastest and most convenient.
TouchPal keyboard for iOS.
The TouchPal keyboard allows you to choose from two methods for entering words. The first is called TouchPal Curve, words must be entered by moving your finger across the screen, moving from one letter to another. The second method is called TouchPal Wave, which is based on the predictive input method. It is possible to choose from several color schemes, in addition, there is an option to quickly enter additional characters.
All of these and many more iOS keyboards can be downloaded from the Utilities section of the App Store App Store, they are only available for iPhone, iPad and iPod running iOS 8.
18 September Apple released new version mobile operating system iOS for download by all users. One of the most notable innovations in iOS 8 was support for third-party keyboards- various text input methods that speed up communication.
TJournal has chosen the top five new keyboards for iPhone and iPad. Although most of them do not yet support the Russian language, the choice for the future can be made now.
1. Swipe
Swype - from "swipe", the continuous movement of your finger across the keyboard - the most popular third-party keyboard on this moment. Like most of these custom keyboards, it started its triumphant march from the Android platform.
Users iOS first the time will be unusual, but the Swype keyboard has gained popularity thanks to the continuous input of words: you need to move your finger from letter to letter until the whole word is composed, and the intelligent algorithm itself will determine what kind of word the user is trying to enter. Surprisingly, the algorithm guesses the words with very high accuracy, and after the end of typing, the word spaces are put down automatically.
Continuous typing does not negate the ability to type letters separately: on the contrary, at first it is often necessary to enter words that are unknown to the Swype dictionary. As Android fan and programmer Andrey Mima notes, there are many such cases, and sometimes Swype may not even know the form of a word already known to him.
2. Swift Key
One of the most comfortable and expandable keyboards on the market. SwiftKey supports seamless typing, can learn by absorbing words from Twitter, Facebook, Gmail, and even notebook. Like Swype, it suggests words for input, and very accurately.
Unlike Swype, SwiftKey is synchronized over the air between several devices (it is important to specify the same account), so you can easily transfer your dictionary from Android to iOS 8. An obvious disadvantage for Russian-speaking users, not mentioned by most foreign blogs, is in iOS 8 The keyboard does not yet support Russian.
3. Flexy
Fleksy position their product as a keyboard on which it is impossible to make mistakes in writing - the autocorrect function works so well in it. Moreover, the developers received an official certificate from the Guinness Book of Records that with the help of it a record was set for the speed of typing text message on a mobile device.
One of the most common functions of third-party keyboards - support for gestures - in Fleksy is implemented in a more compact and simpler way than in the same Swype or SwiftKey: before using the keyboard, the user undergoes a small interactive training. Of the minuses: there is no continuous input in Fleksy, but there is good news - the Russian language is already supported.
4.TouchPal X
Much like Swype, TouchPal X takes the most out of seamless typing and lets you customize the look of your keyboard by choosing different colors. Over 800 Emoji in one keyboard.
Unlike all other keyboards, you can assign a set of whole words and phrases to TouchPal X gestures. No more repeating "Dad, hi, how are you?" and “Fine, how is school?”.
5.PopKey
If words and Emoji aren't enough for you, PopKey offers GIF sharing. Thousands of ready-made images are available for submission, and users can upload their own.
Cost: Free (not yet available for download).
Bonus: QuickType
Standard keyboard Apple is also an option to stop at if all that finger movement across the screen isn't for you. Compared to last iOS version, the keyboard has slightly changed its appearance and added intelligent predictions of the words that the user types.
It has been a long time since it became possible to change the standard keyboard in iOS to third party application. In today's episode, we'll take a look at what keyboards have come out in the meantime and how well they perform.
swype
I'm a big fan of the Swype keyboard on Android, I use it on every phone I've tested, and for the most part, I've had no issues with it. When Apple announced support for third-party keyboards, the first thing I thought was “Finally it will be possible to use Swype!” For those who don't know: the main feature of Swype is text input using strokes, you move your finger from one letter to another, and the keyboard itself understands what word you entered. This input method, in my opinion, is much more convenient and faster than traditional "taps".
Swype on Android has many other advantages: support for various themes, dictionary saving, detailed settings appearance and behavior (for example, reducing the time you hold a button to call additional characters). What of all this was transferred to iOS? Almost nothing. The keyboard does not have dictionary synchronization, additional characters are not visible on the keyboard itself (they are available by long pressing, but they are not visible on the buttons themselves), the prediction work leaves much to be desired. I don’t know what the developers of the iOS version have been doing, but in the three months since the release of iOS 9, almost nothing has changed in the keyboard, except for the appearance of paid themes.
- Link in the App Store
Yandex.Keyboard
I once complained on Twitter that the standard iOS keyboard has very inconvenient access to emoji, they are a separate layout, so if emoji are enabled, then when you change the language, you will occasionally “stumble” on them. Readers recommended paying attention to Yandex.Keyboard, which has a separate layout for emoji.
Yandex itself positions its keyboard as a convenient solution with the ability to add any attachment, be it your location, a funny GIF or a photo from an iPhone. Also in the keyboard is available a quick translation from one language to another. The company has a good official video, showing the keyboard features described above.
As for more traditional functions, among them I will note the convenient switching of languages by swiping left-right, and the layout with numbers is also quickly available to you (this saves a lot of time!). The "123" button opens additional characters, and "..." allows you to quickly send emoji, pictures, your own drawing, location, or translate a piece of text into another language.
Among the minuses, I will highlight the lack of input in strokes and calling additional characters by long pressing. And, of course, I would like to see a period and a comma in the main layouts! But in general, the keyboard left a positive impression, it is at least worth a try.
- Link in the App Store
touchpal
"Tachpal" begins to like literally from the first launch. You immediately pay attention to two rows of additional characters available for quick input. By the way, if you vertically swipe on a letter, the second character will immediately appear.
Of all the keyboards, TouchPal has the most accurate swipe input, and the app rarely makes mistakes.
On the top panel there are buttons for quickly calling the settings and switching to the emoji layout. Among the settings, the button " night mode”, when pressed, the brightness of the block with the keyboard decreases so as not to strain the eyes so much.
In my opinion, TouchPal turned out to be the best keyboard of all presented in today's selection, it will suit both lovers of tapping and those who prefer strokes to enter. She has a good dictionary and predictive input system, quick access to settings and additional characters.
- Link in the App Store
SwiftKey
Another well-known Android keyboard, which in fact turns out to be one of the best in terms of functionality and stability. SwiftKey supports stroke input (and it recognizes words perfectly), has voluminous dictionaries and a prediction system, access to additional characters is called by holding a period, while 0.1 seconds is enough to call other punctuation marks. Of the shortcomings, I would single out perhaps the absence of buttons with numbers called by holding the keys.
- Link in the App Store
Go Keyboard
I remember this keyboard very well since the days of Android three years ago, I even once wrote about it, the more interesting it was to see what Go Dev did for iOS.
The new eighth version of the "apple" operating system has finally "untied the hands" of Apple users, because now they can even change the keyboard on their iPhone. Apple fans did not have to wait long until the AppStore was filled with themed applications - already now there are several keyboards that cope with text input better than the standard one.
Price: Free
Chinese developer CooTek introduced the Touch Pal app right after the release of iOS 8 in 2014. Russian users at first ignored the Touch Pal keyboard, because it did not support the Russian language for quite a long time. Since the advent of the Cyrillic alphabet, there has been no end to enthusiastic comments on thematic forums.
- Design. Keyboard for iPhone Touch Pal looks very similar to the "native", so the user does not feel like he switched from iPhone to another gadget. At the same time, the Touch Pal functionality is much richer.
- Set with swipes and swipes.Touch Pal curve acts as an analogue of Swype technology and allows you to write words without lifting your finger from the screen. There is also a Wave mode that is responsible for predictive text input: the keyboard is able to predict not only the end of the word that the user enters, but also the next word.
- Price. Touch Pal is a completely free product, unlike other virtual keyboards (although they are usually not expensive).
Touch Pal has a curious drawback: the user cannot switch to punctuation marks and numbers. To put any punctuation mark, you have to press the key for a long time - this slows down the process of writing a message.
minuum
Price: 299 r +
At the time of text input, the “useful” screen area is almost halved - this is exactly what the developers of the Minuum application noticed. The problem was solved in a rather original way: the keyboard was simply "flattened" vertically. Minuum is a strip with a minimum number of buttons, each of which contains 3 letters (for example, the first button is Q, A and Z at once). Such an iOS keyboard takes up no more than a quarter of the screen.
At Apple user doubts may arise: is it possible to print correctly and quickly with such an arrangement of letters? It turned out that the lack of information about the vertical arrangement of letters is easily compensated for by dictionaries and recognition algorithms, the presence of which any gadget can now boast of. If you need precise data entry (for example, URLs), it is very easy to give the keys a standard look by swiping your finger from bottom to top. As for the speed of printing, it, on the contrary, increases, moreover, very significantly.
However, Minuum has a couple of drawbacks:
- For users with thick fingers, the installation of such a keyboard is contraindicated.
- Minuum is a rather expensive pleasure: you can download the keyboard for 299 rubles.
Flexy
Price: Free+
Flexy is the most fast keyboard in the world, and this is not a subjective assessment, but an experimentally proven fact. A 16-year-old Brazilian youth set the record by typing a complex sentence of 25 words in just 18 seconds. He used exactly Fleksy, which was listed in the Guinness Book of Records! In addition, the Fleksy keyboard is interesting in that over 4 million dollars of investment was attracted for its development.
The main advantage of Fleksy is that it is not at all necessary to hit the keys when typing - even if all four letters in a four-letter word are typed incorrectly, the user will get the desired result. It is only important that the number of letters in the word matches and misses by the keys are not very serious.
Flexy has other advantages:
- Over 40 languages supported(including Russian).
- Flex application setup: You can make your iPhone keyboard more beautiful by changing its color or adjust the key size to increase the usable screen area.
- Installing additional extensions designed to make communication fun. You can express yourself with the help of GIFs, emoticons, emoji (of which there are more than 8 hundred).
The only negative is the difficulty of entering punctuation marks. In order to quickly put signs, you will have to set up gesture control.
How to change the keyboard on iPhone?
An iPhone or iPad user has the opportunity to download several keyboards from the AppStore at once and change them at least daily. To activate the downloaded keyboard, you need to follow the path " Settings» — « Main» — « Keyboard» — « Keyboards» — « New keyboards". A list will appear - the user should check the box next to that virtual keyboard which he wants to use. In the settings of the application itself, you need to activate the toggle switch " Allow full access».
Conclusion
The choice of a virtual keyboard is an extremely subjective matter, so recommendations which one is better will be redundant. Try out as many free options as you can and settle on the one that seems most convenient. Paid keyboards (like Minuum) should be used only in extreme cases - for example, if you have an iPhone 4 in your hands, where the keys cover a “good” half of the screen.
I remember when I first installed a similar one, I was horrified by its design and speed. Several years have passed and the situation has changed in the other direction. Of course, there are still such “typing assistants” that you don’t want to use, and their presence in the App Store is puzzling (for example, Bitmoji Keyboard). But some keyboards stand out from the rest. I chose three the best options that can surprise users with their simplicity and functionality. So what are these keyboards and what makes them unique?
In order to most accurately convey my impressions of the keyboards, I will build a story according to a certain scheme. First, I will give facts that show the obvious disadvantages of the programs. Then I will talk about the features that distinguish each specific keyboard from the standard one created by Apple developers. The entire review will be surrounded by my user experience and personal impressions, which will allow you to get the most complete picture of what is happening.
I will only say that this topic is very specific. It just so happened that Apple fans are used to using everything out of the box. Many simply do not understand why they need to change their favorite keyboard to some kind of analogue. This is confirmed by the ratings, because even the copies of my review have an average rating in the App Store of 3.5-4 points. Agree, not so much, given that the assessment is based on the reviews of 150-200 people. Perhaps the reason for this situation was the initial bug of keyboards from third-party developers. However, I would like that after reading given text You have changed your mind. Let's start!
The SwiftKey Keyboard was released on the App Store on September 17, 2014 and is receiving regular monthly updates, with the latest being released on March 31, 2016 (at the time of writing). You can't find out the number of downloads in the Apple app store, so let's use a search necessary information in Google Play. This is how I learned that SwiftKey is quite popular, because a bad program is unlikely to get 50-100 million downloads.
Minuses:
In fact, the biggest "minus" of the keyboard is the lack of the Ukrainian language if you live in Ukraine (nevertheless, the total number of available layouts is 36 pieces). I also didn't like the display of the SwiftKey logo on the space bar. It's not even that it exists, but that it all looks ugly and distracts the user from writing the text. The negative aspects include the designs of paid keyboards, but these are more problems for the developer than for the average user. The standard SwiftKey keyboard looks more than passable and offers a nice design, not unlike that of the original Apple keyboard.
Pros:
If you start discussing the "pluses" of the tool from the company "SwiftKey", you can find a huge number of them. Yes, the opinion is subjective, but many will definitely agree with me. I liked the application control menu, where everyone can set up the functions they need: auto-correction, putting dots on “double-space”, automatic capitalization, keyboard click sounds, swipe, quick access button to emoji. Also, for the sake of indirect advertising of SwiftKey, a functionality has been introduced that displays your productivity. A person is able to see how many words in meters he typed and how many of them were corrected or predicted by the keyboard. Regarding the latter, it is worth saying a few words. It is impossible to turn off prediction in the keyboard, which is not a minus, because SwiftKey is famous for this particular functionality. Her vocabulary is quite large: for example, she even knows such a modern word as “upload”. Also, when you hold down a word from the selection bar for a long time, you can turn off its prediction. This helps improve the SwiftKey logic, which is already high-quality and thoughtful (thanks to the developers for this). Of the conveniences of the keyboard, you can select switching languages with a swipe on the space bar and a large dictionary.
Conclusions:
In general, this is all I would like to tell you about SwiftKey Keyboard. Of the three keyboards in this review, it stands out for its pleasant appearance and intuitive interface. I can recommend it to anyone who wants to improve their experience with text on iOS. And yes, if you don't need to use Ukrainian.
SwiftKey Keyboard
Developer:
Version: 1.4.8
iPhone + iPad (53.7 MB) - Free [ Download from the App Store ]
uip rating: 4,5/5
Fleksy + GIF Keyboard was first made available for download on iOS on April 9th, 2014, and has skyrocketed to the top downloads of its peers. Jonas Rozhkov about his impressions of her relatively long time ago. For two years, the keyboard has improved markedly, has been finalized and now has a serial number of 8.2. The number of downloads on Google Play is measured in millions, from one to five - the popularity is noticeable to the naked eye.
Minuses:
To be honest, during the testing of the keyboard, I did not find any noticeable flaws. The only thing that caused complaints was the animation of the transition between additional characters that appear after a long holding of the function button.
Pros:
Fleksy is a unique case. She won my recognition as soon as I figured out her settings. The keyboard may feel weak at first, but after a few hours of use, you get used to it and start typing at an amazing speed. The reason for this is the lack of character faces, that is, you don’t have to watch where your finger rests. In other words, the user will click on the desired letter if he enters a sector defined by the developer.
To the "pluses" I will attribute the prediction module, which works flawlessly. The highlight is that it can even suggest GIFs. And the latest in the application is a huge, huge number, they are all updated and available for search. It is worth mentioning the settings and customization options for the keyboard, thanks to which it can be completely “fitted” to your use case. Turn the spacebar on and off, change the layout size (small, medium, large) and set the number row at the top of the keyboard! Owners of large devices from Apple will like the one-handed control mode, when the user selects the priority of the key arrangement. Fleksy has a large database of languages, including Russian and Ukrainian, and their dictionaries can be updated independently during the typing process. Moving between characters is implemented on highest level and replaces Swype Selection from Cydia: hold down the spacebar and move your finger across the area that replaces the keys.
Conclusions:
I consider Fleksy the best keyboard in this review, adapted for use by Ukrainians, precisely because of the support of the two most popular languages in our country.
Fleksy + GIF Keyboard
Developer: Flexy, Inc.
Version: 8.2
iPhone + iPad (28.6 MB) - Free [ Download from the App Store ]
uip rating: 4,8/5
Slash Keyboard
The last of the reviewed keyboards appeared only in September 2015, but has already gained an army of fans. Due to its main feature, it is popular among teenagers who want to share information, but I also consider it a convenient tool for business people. However, Slash is completely unsuitable for use in our country, as it does not have native language support.
Minuses:
I would not like to pay attention to the obvious disadvantages of the application (9 languages; a certain imperfection of the interface due to the small age of the software), but to talk about its uniqueness.
