The best alternative keyboards for iPhone and iPad. Best Keyboards for iOS Best Third Party Keyboard for iOS
Apple's iOS 8 operating system contains much more innovation than the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus gadgets. Significantly expanded developer capabilities allow smartphones to be used in new ways, giving the impression that these models are significantly better than the iPhone 5S. However, it is worth noting that if you install iOS 8 on a previous generation gadget, it will not be much inferior to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
iOS 8 has introduced 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, opportunity 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 worked 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 works no different on iOS 8; from the moment you install the app 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 feel like the keyboard is "guessing" their thoughts and correctly suggesting entire sentences from the first word they enter.
Fleksy keyboard for iOS.
Fleksy is another popular keyboard, ported from Android to iOS 8, which has a large army of fans. The peculiarity of the application is that you don’t even have to enter a word correctly, making a mistake in each letter, the main thing is that their number and location approximately coincide with the correct word . The Fleksy keyboard has a 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 change the size of the work area.
Swype keyboard for iOS.
An equally popular keyboard for Android and iOS 8, the principle of entering words with Swype 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 specific language; in addition, there is an option for predictive text input (suggesting a word based on the first letters entered). In the Swype keyboard for iOS, the main emphasis is placed on a module that analyzes the trajectory of finger movement across the screen and the word search system in the application base.
Nintype or Hipjot keyboard (keyboard + notes) for iOS.
Nintype / Hipjot is a similar keyboard in terms of input method to the Swype keyboard, but the developers went even further in technology and improved it by making it possible to use gestures with both hands at the same time, which significantly increases the speed of typing. So the developers claim that if average speed typing words on the Swype keyboard is 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 it only supports English for now.
Keyboard KuaiBoard (first name QuickBoard) for iOS.
The KuaiBoard keyboard allows you to choose from three different text input techniques on iOS gadgets: TextBoard, MeBoard and LocationBoard. Each method is based on automation of the most repetitive actions, for example, you can add buttons with the most frequently used words and phrases to the screen, in addition, this function can also be used for large text blocks (templates for replies to letters, contacts and much more).
Minuum keyboard for iOS.
The Minuum keyboard is very different from other designs, primarily in its appearance. The standard QWERTY layout has a vertically compressed layout, which significantly reduces the size of the keyboard itself on the screen. This feature Perfect for new smartphone models with a large screen: iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. With such a compressed layout of the Minuum keyboard, the number of errors will be significantly greater, so this problem is compensated for using dictionaries and text recognition algorithms.
TextExpander keyboard for iOS.
Another keyboard with an original operating principle designed to automate the process of entering text 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 with “Thank you very much”. It will take time to create a database of templates, but subsequently entering text using 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 these and many other keyboards for iOS can be downloaded from the Utilities section of the app store App Store, they are only available for iPhone, iPad and iPod running on the operating system iOS system 8.
Romanov Stanislav 27.09.2014 13201
How to install a new keyboard on iOS 8? TOP 9 best for iPhone and iPad
Apple, having launched new smartphones on the market, updated its mobile operating system to iOS 8. After updating to it, it becomes possible to add third-party keyboards to the iPhone and iPad, thereby somewhat increasing the functionality of the system as a whole.
But now users are wondering: how to install an additional keyboard, which ones can already be downloaded from the App Store, are they popular and which ones will be released in the near future?
Installing a new keyboard
First of all, of course, you must download and install any new keyboard from the store, you can choose from the list after the instructions. It can be downloaded just like any other application. You can enable a third-party keyboard using a few simple steps:
Step 1. Go to "Settings", open the "General" item.
Step 2. Next, scroll down and select the "Keyboards" section
Step 3. In the new section, select "Keyboards" again
Click to enlarge
Step 4. After you have installed the keyboard and made your way to this section, click on the "New keyboards..." button.
Step 5. Then you will see a long list with different sections. If a keyboard is installed, it will be available for selection (in our case, it's SwiftKey). Click on a third-party keyboard and it will be added after the main keyboards.
Step 6. Click on the added keyboard to enable " full access" (only for keyboards you trust). This will allow you to use all its features.
Click to enlarge
Some keyboards are also recommended to be configured before use. For example, when installing Fleksy, you will also have to go to the settings of the keyboard itself and apply the language you need. After activating all the options, launch any application where you can enter text and check the keyboard operation. If necessary, click on the "ball" next to the spacebar if the keyboard has not switched.
Since the process of installing the keyboard is simple, as with any other application, uninstalling it should also be a no-brainer. You can simply go to the App Store and uninstall any third-party keyboard.
TOP 9 best third-party keyboards
Which keyboard should you choose for? everyday use, fast and error-free text input? Most of you may have heard of the most popular keyboards on Android - SwiftKey, which allows you to guess the words and phrases you type, and Swype, which has the advantage of accurate typing. Among others, Fleksy stands out, which was also transferred to iOS 8. However, we will offer a longer list for latest version mobile system from Apple.
Regarding the Russian language in keyboards, it is only known that only Fleksy supports it, but it is possible that other developers are trying to introduce it or have already introduced it.
1. SwiftKey- one of the most popular keyboards on Android, transferred to the Apple platform. SwiftKey brings excellent auto-correction, fast swipe input, and many colorful themes to visually customize your keyboard. The keyboard can adapt to a particular user's style in the background, predicting the next words. Plus, SwiftKey is equipped with a dictionary synchronization function between different devices.
3.Flexy - third party keyboard for iPhone, which won the title of the fastest in the world, getting into the Guinness Book of Records. It has a set of over 600 Emoji (especially if you love emoticons). Its functionality also includes auto-correction and change appearance. There are no swipes here, but, as we have already said, the Russian language is implemented.
4. Ginger Keyboard- one of the keyboards promised for release for iOS devices. It's not out yet, but the developers are working on some of its special innovations, such as a grammar checker, a translator, a dictionary, and a number of other useful and extensive tools, including a personal trainer. For now, these are just promises, and you should wait for the official release of the application.
5. Minuum- not quite standard in presentation iOS user a keyboard that can transform into a very compact panel. In this case, entering words can be done quite easily and quickly.
6. PopKey is the world's first animated GIF keyboard, the developers of which promise to create something truly funny. It will allow you to exchange animations instead of boring emoticons.
[Coming soon, Free]
7.TouchPal Keyboard One of the lesser-known text input solutions, TouchPal comes to iOS quite quietly and discreetly. Much like the default keyboard on an impressive number of Android phones. It's a bit similar to Swype. It is distinguished not so much by swipe input, which has already become a trend, but rather by a well-developed design. Gestures help enhance the functionality of the keyboard.
While preparing the material, we noticed that new keyboards appear almost every day. For example, ai.type. Keyboard appeared much later than TouchPal or SwiftKey, and at first the application was paid. But soon the developers changed their anger to mercy. So it is possible that within a month after our review the situation on the keyboard market will change dramatically.
So, ai.type Keyboard is our first third-party keyboard for iOS 8. At the time of testing, it offered the widest range of capabilities, so we will consider it a kind of starting point for the rest.
Seven covers are offered - standard iOS, Android and WP interfaces, ai.type Keyboard corporate cover, sketch cover and others. It is possible to use your image as a background.
As you can see, there are additional characters, a lot of them, and a separate line is provided for numbers. Based on my experience of using third-party keyboards, one would notice that the mere presence of this line predetermined the choice of the application. But that would be too subjective.
There are many languages, Russian is present. Switching is done by clicking on “Globe”. Keyboard settings can be called up by tapping the button with a special icon.
A very useful feature is the keyboard height adjustment separately for portrait and landscape modes. But there is no text input by sliding, and this is the only omission of the ai.type Keyboard. It’s not that we were fans and campaigned for this particular method, but if there is a demand, it must be satisfied.
In general, the keyboard is quite good and clearly claims to be a favorite among similar applications in the App Store.
SwiftKey – iOS 8 keyboard with sliding support
Somewhat nice keyboard, but without support for the Russian language, at least on this moment.
Another downside is that there are only two covers, dark and light. There are no additional characters.
But there is SwiftKey Flow, i.e. finger sliding input method. As far as our knowledge of English allowed, we were able to make sure that the definition of the word, even with a few of our errors, is performed correctly almost always. Of course, if the word is more or less common and is in the dictionary. IN otherwise You can add the word to the dictionary yourself so that next time there are no problems with its spelling.
In addition, the keyboard offers the use of SwiftKey Cloud cloud services to store settings and its dictionary. Convenient when using several devices, including on different “axes”.
GO Keyboard – Russian keyboard for iOS 8
After the capabilities of ai.type Keyboard, I want to see something new, let's see if GOKeyboard can offer it.
Let's start with the covers. There are only three of them, and it seemed to us that the interface of the best one was copied from the “native” one. iOS keyboards. But you can use your own images as a background.
The period, comma and some additional symbols are present. But switching languages is only possible by “tapping” on the space bar. Those who are used to using the faster Globus may not like this option. And swype is not implemented here either.
There are frankly few settings - choice of languages, predictive input, automatic capitalization, sound when pressed. And the covers, of course. In general, it is still difficult to name a reason that would make GOKeyboard stand out from the rest.
TouchPal is one of the best keyboards for iOS 8
TouchPal keyboard, unlike previous application, is provided much better. There is swype, and additional symbols, and various other things.
For example, here is the most a large number of covers that we have only seen. True, if you look closely, only one cover is used, and everything else is just color options.
As a keepsake, we make a cover with an image from the camera and adjust the transparency of the buttons.
There is additional symbols, there are a large number of “emoticons”. Switch between languages - sliding on the spacebar or long “tap” on the Globe. In principle, it’s convenient.
There are not many languages available yet, but Russian is among those already available. The set of settings is usually minimal.
Swype - an alternative keyboard for iOS 8
Here comes the legendary Swype application. Why legendary? Because thanks to its developer, Swype Inc., another Swype trademark has appeared in the world, which has become a household name, like diapers or a copier once. Swype is a combination of the words swipe and type, which as a result became the designation of a text input method.
In any case, “swipe” is now used by many applications, so its founder will have to try hard to prove its uniqueness in practice.
As usual, let's start with the covers. You can’t add your own background, and there aren’t that many preset ones.
There is a period and a comma, there are additional symbols. The latter are displayed only on one keyboard - the one with a dark design. But technically, the symbols are also present on the other covers; you just need to “tap” the desired button.
Actually, about swype. The method works no worse or better than on other keyboards. “Hello, where are you” can be typed in 2-3 seconds, without even taking special aim, but for more complex and rare words a dictionary is used.
The only difference we noticed was the non-trivial use of swype. For example, to select an additional character, you can press the “?123” button and, without releasing your finger, slide to the desired character. Comma – from the comma button to the space bar, all “on the job.” With a little practice and memorizing the placement of characters, you can achieve amazing results in your typing speed.
Selecting a language is a long tap on the space. Going to the keyboard settings is possible only from the keyboard itself - by “tapping” on the corporate icon and selecting the “gear”.
The set of settings is standard. Overall, the keyboard is not bad, but, as with the GOKeyboard, it doesn’t stand out among its competitors in anything special. If it was once the only one that offered the swype input method, now this advantage is gone.
TapTap Keyboards - the simplest keyboard for iOS 8
That's where the big names end, let's move on to the keyboards that are not so famous. One of them is TapTap Keyboards for iOS 8. We liked it because of the Russian language and the most flexible cover settings.
Actually, of all the applications included in our review, this is the simplest. There are no additional characters, no semicolons, no swype - nothing. There are only problems with hitting Shift with the Russian layout.
The only thing that can attract the user is the cover settings. At first glance, there’s not much to roam around here; you don’t even have the opportunity to choose your own background.
However, you can choose colors that will make both ai.type Keyboard and Swype jealous. True, we were never able to establish the difference between “colors” and “themes”; here the developer either confused something or overdid it. So you can create a completely custom design only for the classic (in the sense of TapTap Keyboards) keyboard shape.
In the settings, among all the “likes” and “shares”, you can only find the inclusion of the sound of the keys. There are no auto-capitals, no double-space dots, much less predictive input here.
Phraseboard – dictionary keyboard for iOS 8
The main idea of the application can be understood from the name - the use of pre-prepared phrases in conversation. It is not possible to use Phraseboard as the main keyboard; its role is secondary. Actually, Phraseboard can hardly be considered a keyboard - rather, a dictionary.
The gist is this: Phraseboard contains an editable list of categories: Personal, Family, Friends, Work, and so on. Each category has phrases - we can also change them or create new ones.
During a conversation, if we suddenly want to use a template phrase, we switch to Phraseboard, go to the desired category and select. In principle, this can be convenient if you often have to indicate your email address, Skype nickname, WebMoney wallet number, and so on. “Sorry, I'm busy, call back later” is far from the only way to use this application.
True, iOS has its own tool - abbreviations, which can be used in almost the same way. Albeit not with such convenience, although it will be suitable for a couple of phrases. But Phraseboard, as a more specialized tool, is much more functional in this regard. Another question is whether it will find its users, and how many of them there will be.
PopKey – pattern keyboard for iOS 8
Another additional keyboard, this time with an entertainment twist. It offers GIF images on specific topics. In principle, why not? Especially if the selected picture can make your interlocutor laugh.
You can upload your own “gifs” to use them in the future. This may not be necessary, since the set of pictures in PopKey is quite large, and on a great variety of topics.
However, for the application to fully work, Internet access is required, although a minimum set of images is provided in offline mode.
Adaptxt – keyboard with special dictionaries for iOS 8
Adaptxt developers position the keyboard as an adaptive one. This has the following meaning: you have access to specialized dictionaries that, when using swype, will help you correctly determine the right word. There are dictionaries on business, finance, sports, IT industry, medicine, and so on.
But at the moment there is a sharp shortage of dictionaries in Russian: only a dictionary on business topics is available for download. The choice of developers is, of course, curious, given the large number of businessmen who are looking in the App Store for a suitable keyboard for composing business letters to your colleagues or subordinates. However, in the near future the set of dictionaries may change, tea is not a constant.
There are two covers: traditionally dark and light. Swype, auto-correction and predictive input are used.
Swype is also very convenient to use with abbreviations. The list of abbreviations and corresponding hot keys is indicated in the keyboard settings. Later, you just need to swipe your finger from the “123” button to a given key to get the text you are looking for. In our opinion, this is an excellent solution, the main thing here is to remember which of the buttons contains the “secret”, and which one.
In general, the keyboard deserves a minute of attention, although, in our opinion, at the moment it is not yet finalized: there are not enough additional symbols, options for editing the cover and, of course, dictionaries.
Conclusion
Overall, there wasn't much of a surprise. The most advanced turned out to be long-known in the environment Android applications, whose developers can assemble a good team to seriously work on their product. These are ai.type Keyboard, Swype, TouchPal and SwiftKey. We leave leadership to ai.type Keyboard, as the most equipped keyboard, albeit without the swype method. For those who do not accept only the continuous input method, we recommend Swype and TouchPal.
Compared to the native keyboard third party applications They don't differ too much. The biggest differences are in the display of additional characters and the swype input method. Whether they are necessary is up to you to decide.
A.i.Keyboard is equipped with a very useful option in the form of changing the size of the keyboard, although this feature is most relevant only for tablets, or, in extreme cases, for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Only the covers remain, but this advantage is doubtful, because each new keyboard necessarily copies the interface of the native application, which, as we have already said, is very good.
Additional keyboards are also interesting, but the scenarios for their use are limited and will not resonate with every user.
iOS Shortcuts* - allows a third-party keyboard to use the shortcuts built into iOS (Settings > General > Keyboard > Shortcuts).
iPhone and iPad keyboards are so good that for a long time Apple time did not allow third-party keyboards in the App Store. In 2014, the company gave up and in iOS 8 it finally became possible to install and use keyboard solutions from other developers.
The most surprising thing is that over the past 2.5 years, a large flurry of options has not appeared. In the market of third-party keyboards, proven players remained, several new ones were added, but there is no excitement or any fierce competition between the products. Off the top of my head, I can name no more than a dozen worthwhile solutions, and even then the situation with alternative keyboards is deplorable at the moment. Let's try to figure it out and take a closer look at the best third-party keyboards for iPhone and iPad.
How to install a third-party keyboard on iOS?
Step 1. Install the keyboard application from the App Store. Links can be taken, for example, from this article.
Step 2. Go to Settings->General->Keyboard->Keyboards. There are keyboards that are installed on your iPhone/iPad. Click “New Keyboards”. In the window that opens, in the “THIRD-PARTY KEYBOARDS” section, you can see a list of all currently available keyboards. Click the one you want and it will be added to the list of installed keyboards.
Step 3. Poke on installed keyboard. And turn on the “Allow full access” option. In the pop-up window you need to select “Allow”.
Now you can use new keyboard. It's easy to call her. While typing, click on the layout. To prevent your keyboard from constantly switching to the standard or another third-party keyboard, remove unnecessary keyboards in the settings.
How to remove keyboards?
Let's go to Settings->General->Keyboard->Keyboards. There are keyboards that are installed on your iPhone/iPad. Click the “Change” button.
Keyboard Plus (Keyboard)
At first glance I really liked her. It very conveniently implements switching to emoticons - swipe on the top panel to the right. I find this more convenient than a separate layout.
You can also swipe left to call up a translator, which allows you to either learn new words on the go or immediately translate into any language. Another swipe takes the user to search mode on Wikipedia. You can disable it in the settings unnecessary options: Emoji, Translation or Wikipedia.
During my use, I discovered two drawbacks: the Shift button works strangely (you need to remember the shades of the desired case) and the letters somehow sometimes slow down and I can type with ease big amount errors than standard keyboard.
Rating: 4 out of 5. Nothing extraordinary, but nothing superfluous either. Simple functional keyboard. Absolutely free.
Flexy keyboard
A popular keyboard that stopped working correctly on iOS 10.2. Only those users who have more than old version operating system. date last update 7.04.2016.
I don’t know why the developers abandoned their creation. In terms of potential and work put in, Flexy was clearly at the forefront: beautiful themes, several extensions, built-in gif images that reflected various emotions.
Grade: 1 of 5. Not updated. I don't recommend it.
TouchPal keyboard
An interesting, simple keyboard that has one cool feature. You can use swipes to type some characters: for example, swiping up a letter prints a number, and swiping down displays a punctuation mark (additional characters are drawn in small print on the keys).
I was also pleased with the ability to access quick settings (dark theme, enable/disable clicks, emoji) directly from the keyboard.
Grade: 2 out of 5. Not updated, although it works. I don't recommend sitting down.
MyScript Stack
Such an unusual keyboard should have appeared on this list. Its peculiarity is that it supports handwriting input.
That is, instead of the usual buttons, there is empty space in front of the user’s eyes in which letters can be written. These handwritten letters turn into normal letters/numbers/signs in text. The MyScript company is famous for such solutions: one of their MyScript Calculator is worth it...
Rating: 3 out of 5. Unusually, it has not been updated since 2015. And even if it were updated, the ease of using such a keyboard on a phone is questionable.
Gboard - keyboard from Google
A cool and convenient keyboard from Google, which has a very funny (but critical!) bug. The letter “E” on a Russian keyboard is actually a Latin “E”... It’s clear that sooner or later such nonsense will be corrected, but now you won’t be able to fully use such a keyboard.
The main feature is a quick search for images in JPG and animations in GIF. Quick insertion into text. Voice input from Google is also available (long press on the space bar). In terms of usability, it is perhaps the best third-party keyboard in iOS: in terms of convenience, it is very close to the standard Apple keyboard.
Rating: 3 out of 5. If the stupid bug with the letter “E” is fixed, the rating will be higher.
Go Keyboard
Another interesting keyboard that comes close to the ideal application in terms of monetization. The developers came up with the idea (and did the right thing!) to create an entire store out of a keyboard. They sell themes and stickers inside the program.
The Go Keyboard itself is convenient. Supports typing not only by taps, but also by swipes.
It added a new set of new tools for developers and, of course, received support for alternative keyboards from third-party developers. With a selection of seven available solutions We will introduce you in this material.
In contact with
The basis of all keyboards was the technology that was once demonstrated on. With its help, accelerated predictive typing of texts is possible, in which, thanks to the dictionary database, the system will automatically select words and even entire phrases.
The iOS keyboard remained practically the only element that has not received any fundamental changes since launch. So:
7 Best Alternative Keyboards for iOS 8
SwiftKey
Has been on mobile for quite some time Android platform and has already managed to prove itself from the best side. automatically remembers frequently used words and phrases, and also actively uses the built-in dictionary.
Flexy
Considered the most fast keyboard in the world. This was proven by a 16-year-old from Brazil who was able to type a complex sentence in a record 18.19 seconds.
The achievement was possible thanks to unique technology Flexy. The main requirement when typing is to press the keys exactly as many times as there are letters in the word. Moreover, you can press all five letters incorrectly, but the word will still be printed as intended. The keyboard allows you to miss letters. The number of letters typed and the area in which the user tapped is taken into account. Next comes the dictionary search.
KuaiBoard
The non-standard keyboard has three accelerated text input techniques on board:
— TextBoard- creates templates (pieces of letters, signatures, messages, addresses) and automatically applies them when typing. The interesting thing is that it can be like simple phrases, and entire paragraphs.
— MeBoard- imports all contact information from notebook, right down to the place of residence and work Email, for conveniently filling out forms and eliminating routine actions.
— LocationBoard- in one tap you can send current geolocation data to friends and acquaintances.
Minuum
How much space does a standard keyboard take up? iPhone display or iPad? More than a third, and sometimes even half of the screen. Alternative keyboard developers Minuum decided to save space and squeezed it in a vertical position. Instead of a whole scattering of keys, Minuum boasts a small strip with a minimum of buttons containing three letters of the alphabet (for example, the first column with the letters Q, A and Z now makes up one button). The speed of typing increases significantly.
Swipe
The main feature of the keyboard is the ability to enter text without lifting your finger from the display. Just click on the first letter of the word and swipe through the remaining letters. Next, the application will automatically select what you want, as if predicting the words that the user wants to write. You will only have to raise your finger when writing a new word. The culprit is a unique technology in which a software analyzer tracks the trajectory of the finger. A nice addition will be the presence of a variety of keyboard themes.
TextExpander
The program uses templates for fast typing. Any combination of numbers and letters can hide entire paragraphs of text. There is nothing new or extraordinary here.
TouchPal
Another alternative keyboard for iOS 8, offering several input methods:
— TouchPal Curve- analogue of the Swype keyboard (enter words without lifting your finger)
— Wave- based on predictive typing with selection of word endings and even prediction of the next word.
