The Secret to Mastering the iPhone Keyboard

Written by Brett Kelly

Technology, The Phone

iPhone.png

I won’t bore with another diatribe about how amazing the iPhone is – the product speaks for itself. I will, however, address one of the more common complaints about the device: the keyboard. For the most part, naysayers seem to prefer the tactile response of a hardware, Blackberry-style keyboard. I can absolutely sympathize with this, as I owned a T-Mobile Sidekick before my iPhone, which also had the hardware keyboard. The iPhone keyboard definitely took some getting used to, but I think I’ve got a handle on the single best advice to offer somebody having trouble acclimating to the touchscreen keyboard. Ready?


Stop trying to achieve pinpoint accuracy on a tiny keyboard with fingers that are large and blunt-tipped. Your best bet is to type quickly, attempting to plant your finger somewhere in the general vicinity of the letter you’re trying to press. If you get reasonably close, the device will auto-correct your spelling errors quite effectively. The only key that you must hit accurately every time is the space bar.

iPhone’s auto spelling correction works based on the number of letters you type. In other words, if you type “basball”, it won’t know what to do with it (a quick test reveals that it won’t offer any correction at all for this particular example). But, if you type “bassball”, it will suggest “baseball”, as you’d expect. It also appears to take into consideration the proximity of the letters on the keyboard (which is what makes the technique I’m describing so effective). Some quick poking around would indicate that it will actually activate a key adjacent to the one you’re trying to press if it makes a valid English word (or whatever language you happen to be typing in – I can’t speak for other locales/languages).

I defy anybody to, without having to backspace, type the following sequence of characters on their iPhone and have it register correctly: “dozr”. I’ve been trying this for the past 5 minutes and neither my wife nor I could do it. Go ahead, I’ll wait :)

So, the auto-correction is actually pretty smart, which means you can trust it to activate the letter you want and correct you when you miss it!

Obviously, this will only hold true if you’re typing dictionary words. Symbols, proper names, etc. will not fall under this rule and you should take more care when typing them. Otherwise, go nuts. Seriously, give this a try and I think you’ll be surprised by the results. But, let me reiterate, for the auto-correction to work, correct spacing is imperative.

Oh, and I’m not for a second promising that you’ll be typing 100 words per minute with 0 mistakes if you follow my advice – you’re stilling typing “hunt-and-peck” style with your thumbs on a device that’s smaller than your hand, so mistakes will be made. But definitely give yourself a few days to get used to this!

I’m curious to hear of anybody else with cool hacks or tricks they used to become more proficient typists (or even navigators) of the iPhone. Sound off in the comments, please!

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  • Brett, this is good info. The way I boil down the iPhone keyboard for new users is like this: "Trust it." The proximity thing you mention was actually one of the features touted about the keyboard in one of the guided tour videos. It recognizes words that are similar to what you have already typed and enlarges the target area (not visibly of course) for the likely next letters. So if you type "bas" it is going to give more weight to the "e", "k", and "t" keys (off the top of my head).

    Regarding proper names, it's worth noting that the iPhone is supposed to recognize proper nouns that are contained in your contacts. I seem to have mixed results here, but it's *supposed* to.

    Another key tip is one that might seem too obvious: Stand still. I can't type for crap while I'm walking, but when I stop for two seconds to type that text, it all goes much more smoothly. :)
  • I just can't get to grips typing with two thumbs. I just use my right index finger but I can type pretty fast. You're right - the best way is to type fast without worrying too much about getting the right keys. It really does a pretty good job of getting in right. I've recently developed a habit of missing the space bar and hitting "c" which mucks the whole thing up though!
  • Sounds like a good theory... do people type with their thumbs though like a blackburry or do they hold the phone in one hand and type with the other? For me that would feel most natural... Not that I've tried it yet.

    Can you turn the phone long-ways and have a bigger keyboard for you blunt-tipped fingered folk?
  • both thumbs at work, and it does work, and iphone turned will give you a slightly bigger jkeyboard.
  • Jakobovich
    The one REALLY annoying typing glitch I've found with the iPod touch is that it substitutes 'I'm' for 'UK'. Especially irksome if you're typing I'm addresses which have I'm in them.
  • spoonerstreet
    I think this is great advice, and I would like to add my piece. I have found that if you establish a rhythm in your typing, it makes it even more accurate. Instead of just trying to type as fast as you can, try to find a consistent tapping time to keep you on pace. Once you learn to trust the keyboard and move at a steady pace, your success rate will be much higher.
  • cars
    Duh- you can type dozr by tapping the word after each letter. i think it took me 5 seconds not five minutes
  • mark
    Hhdjd huust h jhstrbj jsgsj n$

    From Marks iPhone
  • You don't have to get close. If you have trouble hitting a key, you can press and hold any key and slide over to the correct key and release your finger. Works great. Also, I can't do it with two thumbs, I use my club of an index finger and it seems to work most of the time. I just want to curse on the iPhone. He'll for hell is not acceptable.
  • AH
    All so cute! - and tell me how this thing works when you use 3 to 4 languages daily like over here in Europe! most good cell phone allow you to enable/disable predictive typing and allow to choose between a few languages without changing the initial phone language! it would be great if a company like apple would perhaps understand that there are some other countries around. Why not hire an ex Nokia or Sony-Ericsson engineer when designing such an ambitious phone.
  • dan
    as an ex-BB user i am used to using two thumbs... i find with my iPhone that i need to over-shoot by about 20% and i nail it every time... almost as fast as my BB in only two weeks
  • Mike
    I don't want to be a jerk - but my no stretch off the imagination is this good advice. Why it's not even advice.

    Basically you're just saying "Um, accept the word-recognition software."

    That's evidently the big "secret"!

    Well, for text messages and short e-mails using very common words that may be acceptable. For anything more ambitious it's not. If you need to type something of even the slightest substance, something that may involved names or words the software isn't familiar with, well then the iPhone is atrocious. Vastly inferior to the Blackberry.

    I quickly got to the point -- it took maybe ten minutes -- where I could type with one thumb and an index finger (or two thumbs) with real speed and more than acceptable accuracy on my Blackberry. The iPhone is a disaster in this regard. An extreme example of form over function. You just can't do it. (And the "it" in the last sentence would be: type with accuracy! At pretty much any speed!)

    There are many, many nice things about the iPhone and I wish I could just switch over. But the keyboard is a real problem for many functions, typing an e-mail with language or grammar beyond the third-grade level certainly comes to mind as one. And this make-believe "advice" is no help whatsoever.

    The idea that this is the "secret" (as the blog title calls it) is ludicrous.

    Just a really embarrassing (and, yeah, utterly worthless) post. Sorry to be so harsh, but my God . . . that's the "secret"!
  • I just can't get to grips accounting with two thumbs. I just use my appropriate basis feel but I can blazon appealing fast. You're appropriate - the best way is to blazon fast after annoying too abundant about accepting the appropriate keys. It absolutely does a appealing acceptable job of accepting in right. I've afresh developed a addiction of missing the amplitude bar and hitting "c" which mucks the accomplished affair up though!
  • Mac
    In response to "Mike" .... I am also a BlackBerry user as well as an iPhone user, and I have to say you are WAY off. I type long and extremely complex emails with the iPhone and don't have any problems at all. The recognition software works very well. Yes, there is some backspacing, but that is also true with the BB (though not as much to be sure).

    The advice is actually sound. Just type, trust the software, but pay attention (don't trust it completely).
  • chantal
    I'm having a hard time getting the keyboard to go sideways. It is supposed to do this in all applications? How do you get it to do that? I put it horizontal but the keyboard won't go that way and i thought it was supposed to automatically know it is sideways.
  • jarrisueno
    Why type ? Voice recognition must be the way to go... and witha an option in different sanskrit related languages
  • Gando
    Dozr huh, it tried for doze, but I clicked the 'x' and got dozr. Now it seems to allow dozr more often. Dozr, dozr, dozr, dozr. It corrected that last dozr, and that dozr too! Still trying to type doze though :-)
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