With the release of the much-awaited iOS8, Apple has thrown open the doors to third-party developers to create customized keyboards for Apple devices. This means a whole new array of keyboards that can now be integrated with iPhone, iPad and Apple devices. However this range of choices available to Apple users has confused users on which option will be a good choice of keyboard.
In order to alleviate this query, we will share our pick of some excellent choices and some not-so-good choices to help you make a knowledgeable decision on which keyboard should adorn your Apple device.
Some good ones –
3. Flesky – Its USP is the dependency on gestures rather than tapping when typing. The customized method of typing is most favored amongst physically impaired users. You can also locate and share GIFs and customize the keyboard with useful extensions. You can download this for $0.99.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fleksy-keyboard-happy-typing/id520337246?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D2
2. Swype – it provides an easy-to-learn keyboard for iOS. Its intuitive language models is one of the most accurate ones around for precision based typing. It also offers a reliable privacy policy as the data it collects for word recommendation improvement always stays on your Apple device. You can download this for $0.99.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/swype-keyboard/id916365675?mt=8
1. SwiftKey Keyboard 1.0 – This is by far one of the best we have reviewed. With precise trace-typing and excellent predictive typing engine, it is a good choice for many new users and people who take time in typing. At the ‘free’ price tag, it is definitely worth a try.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/swiftkey-keyboard/id911813648?mt=8
Some not so good ones –
3. Adaptxt Keyboard 1.0 – The keyboard has some good features like auto-learning frequently misspelt words. You can also create a single alphabet shortcut to type a stream of commonly recurring text such as your signature. One key disappointment was the lack of any form of visual feedback and the inability to input a period (.) on double tapping spacebar.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/adaptxt-keyboard/id918640589?mt=8
2. TouchPal keyboard – Though it offers heaps of features, this factor turns out to be its undoing. Where one instance of tapping would achieve the desired result on other keyboards, this keyboard needed multiple tapping. The layout of the keys too looked mixed-up.
https://itunes.apple.com/app/id909654683?mt=8
1. Minuum 1.0 – At number one of the list of bad keyboards is the Minuum 1.0 keyboard. The intuitive corrections that was supposed to be a helpful feature in fact came in the way of smooth typing. Also the download price of $3.99 seems exorbitant for a keyboard interface.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/minuum-little-keyboard-for/id914968934?mt=8
Though it is clear that Apple itself had set its own keyboard right with multiple enhancement (you can now tap into word suggestions much like an Android keyboard), the third party enhancement still hold their own forte as compared to this update.
Hope this list will help you decide which third-party customized keyboard will help you in your typing tasks on your favorite iPhone or iPad. Do write in to us and let us know which option have you finally selected for your own Apple device.
