5 Ways To Improve Your Typing Speed And Accuracy On Any Smartphone

Want to learn how you can type faster with your smartphone? These handy tips will help you rack up your typing speed.

We are spending more time typing on our phones these days, almost as much as we type on our computers. So, what happens when you need to type out a long string of sentences or send a quick reply to an urgent message? We have several useful tips to help you get the most out of your iPhone or Android smartphone.

Take advantage of Text Prediction

Above Photo: Pexels

You may notice a prediction bar along the very top of the keyboard when you type on your phone. Here you will find some predicted words that the software thinks you may use next in your sentence. If you are not a very fast typer, this may come in handy as it helps you write long or frequently used words. Overtime, text prediction will learn about the words that you frequently use and you should be able to type out messages faster.

Use Swipe Typing

Above Video: Macworld

Typing on a mobile device can be tricky considering that you are not always stationary and could be moving around. What if we tell you that you can type without even lifting your finger? Well, there’s another method of typing called swipe typing. This method works by letting you form words and entire sentences by dragging your finger across the keyboard.

Android users have been able to take advantage of this method for years with the feature present in keyboards like Gboard and SwiftKey. However, the feature, called QuickPath, is relatively new for iPhone users as it was only introduced in iOS 13. To enable it go to the "Keyboards" menu within your "Settings" and ensure that "Slide to Type" is enabled.

If you are not familiar with the feature, check out the video above to see how it works.

Utilise Text Shortcuts/Replacements

Have you ever wished someone could finish your sentence for you? Well, your keyboard may be able to help you with that by utilising shortcuts that complete abbreviations of certain words. This could be something as simple as “brb” for “be right back” or “omw” for “on my way”.

On iOS, go to your keyboard settings and search for “Text Replacement”. This may vary on Android but let's say you are using Gboard, Google’s default keyboard, search for the “Dictionary” setting and go to “Personal Dictionary” to add all your different abbreviations.

Use the One-Handed Keyboard mode

Above Photo: Pexels

Smartphones have gotten bigger recently and this may pose a challenge if you have small hands. It’s a good thing that most keyboards have a special one-handed keyboard mode to help you type messages when you don’t have both hands free.

On the iPhone, users can press and hold on the “Globe” icon at the bottom left corner of the screen. This will bring up a menu where you can select a one-handed keyboard that takes up the left or right of the screen.

The process is a bit trickier on Android as there are so many different types of keyboards available but generally look out for options under the keyboard setting that let you enable the mode or resize the keyboard to a size of your liking.

Practise using a typing game

They say that practice makes perfect and this is certainly true when it comes to typing. If you are planning to up your typing skills why not have a little fun along the way.

On both iOS and Android devices, you can find typing games like ZType (iOS/Android) an action game requires you to fend off waves of enemies by typing complete words to blast them into smithereens.

Alternatively, you can opt for less intense games like Fast Typing Game: Type Speed on iOS and Typing Master on Android.

Topics

iPhone Android Keyboard Typing Tips Guides iOS