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Time for a new iPhone keyboard?

Michal Ždanský
27

He released the server a few days ago TechCrunch interesting article on "iPhone needs a new keyboard". The QWERTY keyboard, which the iPhone has had since the first generation and which has seen only minimal changes, is based on a more than 140-year-old principle designed for typewriters. The arrangement of the keys at that time had to do with the fact that the keys would not cross and thus not jam, but the layout was nevertheless designed so ingeniously and with regard to comfortable typing that it has not been surpassed to this day. We see the same distribution in all computers, despite the considerable progress in technology since the days of typewriters.

The iPhone's keyboard uses the same QWERTY layout as previous BlackBerry phones in physical form. However, the digital keyboard offers more than simple character input. An example is auto-correction, which corrects typos resulting from imprecise maneuvering on relatively small keys. But isn't that enough these days?

A few years ago, an innovative text input method called Swype appeared. Instead of typing individual letters, the user creates individual words by simply swiping over the letters they want to use. A predictive dictionary takes care of the rest, guessing what word you meant based on the movement of your finger. With this method, a speed of about 40 words per minute can be achieved, after all, the holder of the record for the fastest typing on a mobile phone achieved his performance thanks to it. Swype, currently owned by Nuance, is available for Android, Symbian and Meego, and it also understands Czech very well.

For example, BlackBerry chose another alternative in its latest BB10 operating system. Change Keyboard predicts individual words according to syntax and displays the predicted words above keys containing additional letters of the predicted word. Drag your finger to confirm the hinted word. However, this method is rather complementary and users can easily type in the way they are used to.

The developers from Canada who developed Minuum came up with a completely new concept. This is also based on the QWERTY layout, but it fits all the letters in a single line, and instead of hitting specific letters, you tap on the zones where that letter is located. Again, the predictive dictionary takes care of the rest. The advantage of this keyboard is not only its speed, but also the fact that it takes up very little space.

[do action=”citation”]Almost everyone knows and uses a computer keyboard, which is why the iPhone keyboard has the same layout as a laptop.[/do]

So why can't we enjoy similar innovations on the iPhone? First of all, you need to understand the philosophy of the iPhone. Apple's goal is to have such a mobile system that the largest possible mass of people can understand even without instructions. It achieves this with a certain type of skeuomorphism. But not the one that makes us see fake leather and linen in iOS. But by partially imitating physical things that a person already knows and knows how to use. A great example is the keyboard. Almost everyone knows and uses a computer keyboard, which is why the iPhone keyboard has the same layout as on a laptop, instead of twelve number buttons with letters arranged alphabetically, as was the case on classic phones.

[youtube id=niV2KCkKmRw width=”600″ height=”350″]

And for that very reason, apart from the addition of Emoji as the new "standard" for emoticons on the keyboard, not much has changed. And to be quite precise, for some languages, Apple has enabled voice input. Does this mean that nothing should change for the next few years? Not. Among high-end phones, the iPhone still has one of the smallest screen sizes. This means it also has the narrowest keyboard, which requires very precise fingers. There is an option to write horizontally, but this requires the use of both hands.

If Apple does not want to increase the diagonal, it could offer an alternative keyboard. It would not replace the existing one, it would only expand its possibilities, which the ordinary user might not even notice. I don't believe that Apple would open up the SDK for the keyboard like Android, rather they would implement the alternatives themselves throughout the system.

And which of the methods would Apple eventually implement? If he would like to rely on a third-party method, Swype from Nuance is offered. Apple already works with this company, their technology takes care of spoken word recognition for Siri. Apple would thus only expand the existing cooperation. Minuum is less likely if Apple wanted to use their technology, an acquisition would probably have already taken place.

Much is expected from iOS 7, which Apple will probably present on June 10 at WWDC 2013, and a new keyboard function would certainly be welcome. On the other hand, I don't think one of the iPhone's biggest problems is text input. That's why I consider the urgent call for a better keyboard Natasha Lomas z TechCrunch for exaggeration. Nevertheless, I would welcome an alternative.

If you're wondering how such a Swype would work on an iPhone, you can download the app Path Input (there is also a Lite version free). You can try it yourself, at least when writing English words (Czech is not supported), how much faster this writing method would be for you.

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