The best third-party keyboards for iPhone and iPad. Best Third Party Keyboards for iOS Best Keyboard for iPhone
On September 17, 2014, Apple released a new operating system iOS 8, in which one of the main changes was the emergence of support for third-party keyboards. Popular Android products, as well as developments specifically for iPhone and iPad, were not long in coming - on the same day, mobile device users got the opportunity to try dozens of different keyboard applications and, if desired, change the standard one to something more convenient and functional. However, it quickly became clear that the vast majority of iPhone owners are not interested in experiments and prefer the time-tested way of typing. Or maybe it’s all the fault of a huge number of developer errors and flaws in iOS, which did not make it comfortable to use third-party keyboards for several months.
After the first wave, when alternative keyboards just appeared in the App Store for iOS 8, there were only three high-profile announcements: typing tools were released by Yandex, Google and Microsoft. Russian-speaking users only have access to Yandex.Keyboard, which receives regular updates with bug fixes, stability and performance improvements, and new functionality. Google's Gboard is only available in Latin, and the experimental Microsoft Word Flow doesn't have Cyrillic either. However, the curved Word Flow keyboard looks too extravagant for everyday use anyway.
However, the problem with third-party keyboards for iOS is not even that interesting and noteworthy developments from new players do not appear in the App Store. The most revealing is the fact that the developers from the first wave, for the most part, abandoned their products and have not released updates for a long time. The new version of TouchPal last appeared in the App Store on December 19, 2015, Minuum has not been updated since January 26, 2016, GO keyboard stopped development on April 17 this year. My favorite Fleksy keyboard was bought by Pinterest and has not received any updates since April 07, 2016, and most importantly, has stopped working correctly since iOS 10.1.
It turns out that four of the six keyboards that seemed to be among the most promising in September 2014 have not received updates for more than six months and have not been adapted to the changes in iOS 10. Among the old-timers of the App Store, there are only two keyboards whose developers have not yet completely abandoned their offspring: SwiftKey and Swype, new versions of which were released in November of this year. However, judging by the feedback from users in the app store, the developers of these keyboards should pay much more attention to improving their products and develop them more actively.
Not getting the desired number of users or not being able to earn enough money from their products, most developers have abandoned alternative keyboards. New worthy applications have not appeared for a long time, and the prospects for the still alive SwiftKey and Swype for iOS are very vague. Only Yandex.Keyboard, Google's Gboard and Microsoft Word Flow have chances to grow their audience and attract new users. However, each of them is focused less on offering iPhone and iPad owners more convenient typing, and more on access to related services such as built-in search, translator, integrated contacts, picture collections and GIFs.
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, has updated the mobile operating system to iOS 8. After updating to it on the iPhone and iPad, it becomes possible to add third-party keyboards, thereby slightly 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 with a few simple steps:
Step 1. Go to "Settings", open the item "General".
Step 2. Next, scroll down and select the "Keyboards" section
Step 3. In the new section, select "Keyboards" again
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Step 4. After you have installed the keyboard and made your way to this section, click on the "New Keyboards..." button.
Step 5. You will then see a long list with different sections. If a keyboard is installed, then it will be available for selection (in our case, this is 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.
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Some keyboards are still 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. If necessary, click on the "ball" next to the space bar if the keyboard has not switched.
Since the process of installing the keyboard is simple, as is the case with any other application, uninstallation should also not be a problem. You can simply go to the App Store and remove any third-party keyboard.
TOP 9 Best Third Party Keyboards
What kind of keyboard to choose for everyday use, fast and error-free text input? Most of you may have heard of the most popular keyboards on Android - SwiftKey, with the ability to guess words and phrases, and Swype, which has the advantage of accurate typing. Among others, Fleksy stands out, which also managed to be transferred to iOS 8. However, we will offer a longer list for the latest version of Apple's mobile system.
As for the Russian language in keyboards, it is only known that only Fleksy supports it, but it is possible that other developers are trying to add it or have already added it.
1. SwiftKey- one of the most popular keyboards on Android, ported to the "apple" platform. SwiftKey brings great auto-correction, fast swipe input and many colorful themes to visually customize your keyboard. The keyboard can adapt to the style of a particular user in the background by guessing 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, hitting the Guinness Book of Records. It has a set of over 600 emoji (especially if you like emoticons). Its functionality also includes auto-correction and changing the appearance. There are no swipes here, but, as we have already said, the Russian language is implemented.
4Ginger 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 features, such as grammar checker, translator, dictionary, and a number of other useful and large-scale tools, including a personal trainer. So far, these are just promises, and you should wait for the official release of the application.
5. Minuum- not quite a standard keyboard in the iOS user's view, which can be transformed into a very compact panel. At the same time, entering words can be done quite easily and quickly.
6.PopKey- the world's first animated GIF keyboard, the developers of which promise to create something really funny. It will allow you to share animations, instead of annoying emoticons.
[Coming soon, Free]
7.TouchPal Keyboard One of the lesser-known text input solutions, TouchPal comes to iOS quite quietly and discreetly. About the same as the default keyboard on an impressive number of Android phones. It is 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-designed design. Gestures help increase keyboard functions.
During the preparation of the material, we noticed that new keyboards appear almost daily. 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 in 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 features, 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 branded cover, sketch cover and others. It is possible to use your image as a background.
As you can see, there are additional characters, and a lot, and for numbers there is a separate line at all. Based on my experience of using third-party keyboards, one would notice that the mere presence of this line predetermined the choice of application. But that would be too subjective.
There are many languages, Russian is present. Switching is carried out by pressing the "Globe". Keyboard settings can be called up by tapping on a button with a special icon.
A very useful feature is the keyboard height adjustment separately for portrait and landscape modes. But there is no sliding text input here, and this is the only omission of ai.type Keyboard. It's not that we were fans and campaigned specifically for this method, but if there is a demand, it must be satisfied.
In general, the keyboard is quite good and clearly claims favor among similar applications in the App Store.
SwiftKey - Keyboard for iOS 8 with swipe support
Somewhat nice keyboard, but without the support of the Russian language, at least for now.
Another of the minuses - only two covers, dark and light. There are no additional characters.
But there is SwiftKey Flow, i.e. swipe 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 mistakes, is carried out correctly almost always. Of course, if the word is more or less common and is in the dictionary. Otherwise, the word can be added to the dictionary on its own, so that the next time there are no problems with its spelling.
In addition, the keyboard offers the use of SwiftKey Cloud services for storing settings and its dictionary. Convenient when using multiple devices, including on different "axes".
GO Keyboard - Russian keyboard for iOS 8
After the possibilities 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 was copied from the “native” iOS keyboard. But you can use your own images as a background.
A period, a comma and some additional characters are present. But switching languages is possible only through "tap" on the space. Those who are used to using the faster Globe may not like this option. And swype is not implemented here either.
There are frankly few settings - the choice of languages, predictive input, automatic capital letters, sound when pressed. And covers, of course. In general, it is still difficult to name a reason that would distinguish GOKeyboard from the rest.
TouchPal is one of the best keyboards for iOS 8
The TouchPal keyboard, unlike the previous application, is provided much better. There are swype, and additional characters, and other miscellaneous things.
For example, here is the largest number of covers that we have ever seen. True, if you look closely, only one cover is used, and everything else is just color options.
For memory, 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 "smilies". Switching between languages - sliding on the spacebar or a long "tap" on the "Globe. Basically, it's convenient.
There are not many languages yet, but Russian is among those already available. The set of settings is habitually minimal.
Swype is an alternative keyboard for iOS 8
And here comes the legendary Swype app. Why legendary? Because thanks to its developer, Swype Inc., another Swype trademark has appeared in the world, which has become a household name, like once a diaper or a copier. Swype is a combination of the words swipe and type, which eventually became the designation of the text input method.
In any case, now "swipe" is used by many applications, so its ancestor will have to try to prove its uniqueness in practice.
As usual, let's start with the covers. You cannot add your own background, and there are not so many pre-installed ones.
There is a period and a comma, there are additional characters. 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” on the desired button.
Actually, about swype. The method works no worse and no better than on other keyboards. “Hi, where are you” you can type in seconds in 2-3, without even aiming too hard, but for more complex and rare words, a dictionary is used.
The only difference we noticed is the non-trivial use of swype. For example, to select some additional character, you can press the "? 123" button and, without releasing your finger, slide to the desired character. A comma - from a button with a comma to a space, all "on the job". With a little practice and memorization of the location of the characters, you can achieve amazing results in typing speed.
The choice of language is a long "tap" on the space. Switching 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. In general, the keyboard is not bad, but, as in the case of the GOKeyboard, nothing special stands out from the competition. If once she was the only one who offered a way to enter swype, now this advantage is gone.
TapTap Keyboards is the easiest keyboard for iOS 8
That's where the big names ended, let's move on to not so famous keyboards. One of them is TapTap Keyboards for iOS 8. We liked it because of the presence of the Russian language and the most flexible cover settings.
Actually, of all the applications included in our review, this is the simplest. No extra characters, no semicolon, no swype - nothing. Only one problem with hitting Shift with the Russian layout.
The only thing that can attract the user is the cover settings. At first glance, you can’t really walk around here, you don’t even have the opportunity to choose your background.
However, you can choose colors that make both ai.type Keyboard and Swype jealous. True, we were not able to establish the difference between “colors” and “themes”, here the developer either mixed up something or was too clever. So you can create your own design option only for the classic (in the sense of TapTap Keyboards) keyboard shape.
In the settings, among all the "like" and "share" you can find only the inclusion of the sound of the keys. There are no autocaps, no double-space dots, much less predictive input.
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 a conversation. Using the Phraseboard as the main keyboard is not possible, its role is secondary. Actually, Phraseboard can hardly be considered a keyboard - rather, a dictionary.
The bottom line 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, switch to the Phraseboard, go to the desired category and select. In principle, this can be convenient if you often have to specify your email address, Skype nickname, WebMoney wallet number, and so on. "Sorry, I'm busy, call back later" is far from the only use case for this application.
True, iOS has its own tool - shortcuts, which can be used in much the same way. Albeit not with such convenience, although it’s suitable for a couple of three 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 - Drawing Keyboard for iOS 8
Another additional keyboard, this time with an entertainment twist. It offers GIF images on certain topics. Basically, why not? Especially if the selected picture in the topic will be able to cause laughter of your interlocutor.
You can upload your "gifs" to use them later. This may not be required, since the set of pictures in the PopKey is quite large, and on a great variety of topics.
However, for the full operation of the application, 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. The following meaning is embedded here: specialized dictionaries are available to you, which, when using swype, will help you correctly determine the desired 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 business dictionary is available for download. The choice of developers, of course, is interesting, given the large number of businessmen who are looking for a suitable keyboard in the App Store for composing business letters to their 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. It uses swype, auto-correction and predictive input.
Also swype is very convenient to use with abbreviations. The list of abbreviations and corresponding "hot" keys is specified in the keyboard settings. Later, it is enough to swipe from the "123" button to the specified key to get the desired text. In our opinion, 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 has not been finalized yet: there are not enough additional characters, cover editing options and, of course, dictionaries.
Output
In general, there was no big surprise. The most advanced were the long-known applications in the Android environment, the developers of which can assemble a good team for serious work on their product. These are ai.type Keyboard, Swype, TouchPal and SwiftKey. We leave the leadership to ai.type Keyboard, as the most equipped keyboard, albeit without the swype method. For those who do not recognize only the continuous input method, we recommend Swype and TouchPal.
Compared to the native keyboard, third-party applications do not differ too much. The most significant differences are in the display of additional characters and the swype input method. Whether they are necessary is up to you.
A very useful option in the form of resizing the keyboard is equipped with a.i.Keyboard, although this feature is most relevant only for tablets, in extreme cases - for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Only the covers remain, but this advantage is also 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 find a response from every user.
iOS Shortcuts* - Allows a third-party keyboard to use shortcuts built into iOS (Settings > General > Keyboard > Shortcuts).
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 the average typing speed on the Swype keyboard is 50-60 words per minute, then 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 responding to letters, contacts, and much 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 is perfect for new models of smartphones with a large screen: 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 other iOS keyboards can be downloaded from the Utilities section of the App Store, and are only available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod running iOS 8.
With the release of iOS 8, users are no longer limited to the built-in keyboard and are free to install any third-party keyboards, of which there are a great many. Any developer can now create their own keyboard, and after the approval of Apple's censors, anyone can install it on their iPhone or iPad. The holiday has just begun, and we have already been hit by an avalanche of progressive keyboards that were waiting in the wings. And this is just the beginning!
swype
Swype for Android has been available for about five years now, and some OEMs have shipped their devices with the default Swype keyboard. After announcing support for third-party keyboards at WWDC this year, it came as no surprise to anyone that the company has confirmed the release of Swype for iOS. Instead of tapping each key to type, Swype lets you slide across the keys without lifting your finger from the screen. The algorithm determines the characters you type and they appear in the text input field. Also, the application tries to guess the words you are about to type and displays them in a field above the keyboard. In addition, Swype has a custom dictionary, where you can add various words, such as nicknames and some unique names.
pop key
Do you need a GIF keyboard? Of course, you say, I can’t imagine how I lived without it before! The novelty allows you to express your innermost feelings with the help of various animations from popular films, series, Internet memes and, of course, cats. Here is a video demonstrating what a chat that uses such animations might look like.
A suitable “gif” can be found in the animation library directly from the keyboard. In addition to this, you can upload your own animation to the shared library. Conveniently organized access to favorite and last used animations. At the moment, PopKey is not yet in the App Store, but you can register now and the developers will notify you about the release. They will probably send you a GIF. :)
Flexy
Fleksy was one of the first companies to announce the release of the iOS 8 keyboard back in June. During its existence on Android, the San Francisco-based developers have amassed millions of users in a few years. Now Fleksy is also available for all iOS devices.
Fleksy uses the so-called "geometric intelligence" to deal with typos and misses on the right keys. It predicts the words you are going to type based on your patterns. This should help users type faster, and in fact it does - the recently set world record for fastest smartphone typing was achieved on the Fleksy.
minuum
If you're going to install a custom keyboard, you can make it very custom - that's exactly what Minuum is. The feature of this keyboard is that it shrinks to a very small size, leaving free the space that a standard keyboard occupied, and as a result, much more messages fit on the screen.
While typing, the application tries to predict the words you are typing and will automatically correct them if there are errors or typos. Now chats in any applications will become much more spacious. If you like Minuum - hurry up, there is a discount during the initial release, later the price will be increased to $3.99.
SwiftKey
Like Swype, SwiftKey allows you to type text by swiping across the screen without lifting your finger, instead of aiming at the keys. It also lends itself to learning and remembering your habits, it begins to predict the words you are going to type.
SwiftKey also differs from other keyboards in that you can connect your Evernote, Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, and iOS Contacts accounts so that it “remembers” all the unusual names, titles, and other words you use frequently. Also, if you used SwiftKey on Android, you can sync your account and all settings.
TextExpander
TextExpander works like a normal QWERTY keyboard, with auto-correction for lowercase letters and auto-correction for errors. But its key function is the conversion of text abbreviations-snippets into ready-made words and phrases that can be customized in the application. With its help, you can insert cool emoticons. Also you with TextExpander you will save your time if you often have to type repetitive words and phrases.
Kaomoji
Kaomoji is probably the craziest keyboard ever. She uses kaomoji, which are small, cute ASCll characters from Japan that, like Emoji, are plain text and cover a wide variety of emotions and situations.
The Kaomoji keyboard displays whole pages of these characters and you can type them with a simple tap. You can add the kaomoji you like to your favorites, which will be synced via iCloud across all your devices. You can even create your own monster by adding a face, arms, legs, weapons, and more.
Gifmoji
As the name implies, Gifmoji is a keyboard for those who love gifs and emojis. Its interface is divided into three sections. The first contains animated emoticons - the same as emoji, only animated. The next one contains popular kaomoji characters, and the last one contains gif animations. The GIFs section contains many popular Internet memes suitable for different situations. Gifmoji does not support pasting gif animations directly, so you will need to copy it first, then paste it into the input field.
Developer Gifmoji promises to soon expand the base of available animations, as well as add the ability to upload your own animations. In general, gif keyboards are a great idea and, apparently, there will be considerable competition among them in the future.