Every iPhone and iPad uses the Apple keyboard as standard, but there are enough alternatives in the App Store to give you a chance. In our opinion, these are the best alternative keyboard apps for iOS.
The best keyboard apps for iPhone and iPad
The popular Swype keyboard is calling it quits. Nuance, the maker of the keyboard, has pulled the app directly from the App Store and Play Store. The company says it wants to focus on making keyboards for smartphone makers from now on. Fortunately, there are plenty of other keyboards available in the App Store. Below we list our four favorites.
1. SwiftKey
SwiftKey is one of the best-known keyboard apps for iOS. It has been around since the introduction of alternative keyboards in 2014 and continues to be constantly updated. SwiftKey is a comprehensive keyboard that offers many customization options. You can use the standard version, but in the app you will also find other color schemes to display it entirely to your own taste.
In addition, Swiftkey offers useful options that you can enable and disable. Think of autocorrect, double-tapping the space for a period and the so-called SwiftKey Flow, which you can type by swiping your finger from letter to letter (just like Swype). Words are almost always recognized and it makes typing a lot faster. If you prefer to type by tapping and misspelling a word, point to the word in the bar above the keyboard, where you can find suggestions. SwiftKey supports two languages ​​at the same time.
Also fun: the app keeps track of, among other things, whether you have become more productive, how many typos have been corrected and how many words have been correctly predicted. However, the app does not support GIFs and there is no 3D Touch on the keyboard to move the cursor.
→ Download SwiftKey from the App Store (free)
2. Gboard
Gboard is Google’s keyboard and that comes with a trick. By tapping the Google icon, you can enter search queries from your keyboard. Results are displayed with handy little cards in place of your tests. You can share them right away in the app where you use Gboard. This works well for sharing websites and news, and you can also send pictures and gifs this way.
In addition, various themes can be set for Gboard. There is dark and light version, you can select landscapes or use photo from gallery as wallpaper. In addition, you can indicate in the settings of the app to search for contacts and to share your location, for example to show the weather forecast and restaurants in the area.
With Gboard it is possible to swipe over the letters to type. Conveniently, the keyboard supports up to three languages ​​at the same time. That’s ideal if you sometimes use English words, Gboard still knows what you mean. Also nice: there is 3D Touch support, so you can move the cursor by pressing and moving harder on the keyboard. This also works via the space bar.
→ Download Gboard from the App Store (free)
3. Fleksy
For Fleksy, you also have to download and install the Dutch language separately, but the keyboard can be completely adjusted to your liking. Not only does the app offer dozens of free colors and theme packs, it also lets you add extensions to the keyboard. This allows you to put the letters on the right, for example, if you only want to type with your right thumb, which is nice for the larger screens of the iPhone 8 Plus, for example. It is also possible to give keystrokes fun effects, such as hearts when you touch letters.
Support for gifs and stickers that you can search for has been added in the Fleksy keyboard. A big downside is that both the app and keyboard sometimes hangs and you cannot type, we found out. If this also bothered you, we advise against the app, because a keyboard should always be immediately usable.
→ Download Fleksy from the App Store
(free)
4. Minuum
The makers of Minuum call their app ‘The Little Keyboard for Big Fingers’. This is the only one in the list that you pay for, in this case an amount of 3.99 euros. With Minuum you can swipe the keyboard down to make it very narrow at the bottom of the screen. The keyboard takes up little space, but you can keep typing.
Minuum offers dozens of themes to personalize and has several useful swipe gesture options. Up and down changes the size of the keyboard, swipe left to delete a word and right to add a space. It also supports one-handed typing and predicts words and emoji.
Also read: This is how the iOS 11 one-handed keyboard works
Minuum is not as comprehensive as other apps in this list, it lacks 3D Touch support and gifs, but the small keyboard can be a reason to give it a try. IOS also has a similar keyboard since iOS 11 that is easier to operate with one hand. You can read how this works in the tip below.
→ Download Minuum from the App Store (3.99 euros)