4 ms·

I think the reason is that after you got used to full-sized keyboards, typing on a tiny screen portion with any software keyboard is just a pain. I cannot type

I think the reason is that after you got used to full-sized keyboards, typing on a tiny screen portion with any software keyboard is just a pain. I cannot type more than several words on a smartphone without getting annoyed.

1propionyl 2y ago
As a counterpoint I type at around 90wpm on a physical keyboard (preference is for low carry), but thumb type over 130wpm on a modestly large touch screen keyboard. The quality of the auto-correction afforded by the operating system matters quite a bit.
- codedokode 2y ago
  But auto-correction is possible with physical keyboards too, right? Also it is hard to believe that you can bend your fingers so fast to produce 2 words per second without getting tired.
  - stavros 2y ago
    > But auto-correction is possible with physical keyboards too, right? I don't think so, the mistakes you tend to make with physical keyboards are more on the "entirely wrong finger for this letter", rather than "pressed the key right next to it by mistake".
- atoav 2y ago
  Yeah sure, but how does that work e.g. for code? I wrote 75% of my MA thesis on my phone while waiting for the bus. But that is text that the keyboard was good at predicting — when you have to write a lot of cryptic symbols all of that falls apart pretty quickly.
  - 1propionyl 2y ago
    The solution is to just not try to type LaTeX on your phone. I'm not sure what else to say.
rjh29 2y ago
Have you tried swipe-based input methods? Given a bit of time to learn your style they are much higher WPM and less error-prone than trying to press non-tactile keys on a screen.
- gadders 2y ago
  Agreed. I forget the name of my preferred one, but they sadly went bust a few years back. It had features that the Samsung equivalent still lacks.
stavros 2y ago
Are you using an iPhone? iOS keyboards are terrible, to the point where I'm considering switching back to Android. SwiftKey on Android is magical, I just randomly punch keys in the vicinity of the letter I want and it figures out what I mean. I might type faster on Android than on my desktop PC.
- elashri 2y ago
  Have you tried SwiftKey on iOS? I use it mainly because it is the only keyboard app that supports arabic well and because it has better themes. I don't know how much better or worse it is compared to the android version though.
  - stavros 2y ago
    I have (I'm typing on it now). It's abysmal, and it's stupid things missing, like configurable long-press duration, a comma key, or a symbols layer. They could have easily made it the same as on Android, but they didn't, and I have no idea why. Android is orders of magnitudes faster to type on, it's baffling why they wouldn't just add the features to their iOS one.

1propionyl 2y ago

As a counterpoint I type at around 90wpm on a physical keyboard (preference is for low carry), but thumb type over 130wpm on a modestly large touch screen keyboard. The quality of the auto-correction afforded by the operating system matters quite a bit.

codedokode 2y ago
But auto-correction is possible with physical keyboards too, right? Also it is hard to believe that you can bend your fingers so fast to produce 2 words per second without getting tired.
- stavros 2y ago
  > But auto-correction is possible with physical keyboards too, right? I don't think so, the mistakes you tend to make with physical keyboards are more on the "entirely wrong finger for this letter", rather than "pressed the key right next to it by mistake".
atoav 2y ago
Yeah sure, but how does that work e.g. for code? I wrote 75% of my MA thesis on my phone while waiting for the bus. But that is text that the keyboard was good at predicting — when you have to write a lot of cryptic symbols all of that falls apart pretty quickly.
- 1propionyl 2y ago
  The solution is to just not try to type LaTeX on your phone. I'm not sure what else to say.

rjh29 2y ago

Have you tried swipe-based input methods? Given a bit of time to learn your style they are much higher WPM and less error-prone than trying to press non-tactile keys on a screen.

gadders 2y ago
Agreed. I forget the name of my preferred one, but they sadly went bust a few years back. It had features that the Samsung equivalent still lacks.

stavros 2y ago

Are you using an iPhone? iOS keyboards are terrible, to the point where I'm considering switching back to Android. SwiftKey on Android is magical, I just randomly punch keys in the vicinity of the letter I want and it figures out what I mean. I might type faster on Android than on my desktop PC.

elashri 2y ago
Have you tried SwiftKey on iOS? I use it mainly because it is the only keyboard app that supports arabic well and because it has better themes. I don't know how much better or worse it is compared to the android version though.
- stavros 2y ago
  I have (I'm typing on it now). It's abysmal, and it's stupid things missing, like configurable long-press duration, a comma key, or a symbols layer. They could have easily made it the same as on Android, but they didn't, and I have no idea why. Android is orders of magnitudes faster to type on, it's baffling why they wouldn't just add the features to their iOS one.