Related News
Home » Sunday » Technology
Upgrade to iOS 8 for better touch typing on iPhones, iPads
Print Edition
I never would have considered writing this review on my iPhone if I hadn’t upgraded to Apple’s new operating system, iOS 8.
With the free upgrade, typing on the iPhone’s touch keyboard doesn’t seem as tedious, cumbersome or infuriating as it did before, when a rather dim-witted “auto-correct” system would slip in words that made people look illiterate or, even worse, inappropriate.
The new “QuickType” keyboard is smart enough to anticipate what you’re typing, such as the next logical word in a phrase. You’re constantly shown three word choices in a gray ribbon above the keyboard. When the right word appears, tapping on it automatically inserts it into the text to save keystrokes. I just avoided 15 by tapping on “automatically” and “keystrokes” when they popped up.
If that’s not slick enough, iPhone and iPad users can choose one from an outside party, similar to what Google’s Android operating system has allowed for years. A few are free, while others cost 99 US cents to US$4.99. Switching to a different keyboard requires pressing on a small globe near the space bar, a tool that allowed me to use each one as I wrote this review.
Apple’s QuickType (free)
This keyboard strives to predict what words are being typed so you don’t have to spend as much time pecking on your device. For the most part, QuickType fulfills that mission. It does a good job anticipating common words like “the” and “you,” but also understands when to list words like “immolation.” It also had no problem automatically filling in e-mail addresses when I was in my Gmail app or tagging people when I was on Facebook. These are common tasks, but the keyboards from outside parties couldn’t consistently do them in my tests.
The most annoying aspect about QuickType and other keyboards is their inability to anticipate punctuation marks. Including words with punctuation among the choices, now that would be smart.
SwiftKey (free)
This seemed the most intelligent of the keyboards that I tried. As promised, SwiftKey quickly picked up on my writing style and frequently used words.
When I was writing an e-mail about New Orleans, SwiftKey smartly included “Quarter” among the choices after I typed “French.” With your permission, SwiftKey also scans posts on your Facebook page.
SwiftKey is supposed to pay attention to each user’s writing style to become ever-more clairvoyant as time goes on.
Swype (99 cents)
The main appeal of this keyboard is a feature that inspired its name: the ability to enter text by swiping across the keyboard instead of tapping on keys. This is especially useful for common punctuation. You’re also supposed to be able to enter entire words by swiping around the keyboard, but I wasn’t adroit enough to perfect the technique.
Bottom line: Apple’s new keyboard is so much smarter than its predecessor that most longtime iPhone and iPad users will be happy to use it. I recommend checking out SwiftKey or Swype if you are looking for an even more intelligent type.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
