Swype, Android 4.2, and SwiftKey keyboards

Swype vs. SwiftKey vs. Google Android Keyboards

One of the cool things about Android is all the things you can customize. And lately there have been a few keyboards coming out or receiving major updates. I took a look at three of them: SwiftKey, Swype by Nuance, and Android 4.2’s keyboard (available for 4.0 and up).

There are a lot of keyboards to choose from, but these are among the most popular and most often cited in the media.

All these keyboards feature gesture typing, multiple languages, and user dictionaries. The aspects I compared include: ease of use, accuracy and prediction, speed, and unique features.

Ease of Use

SwiftKey’s number one feature is that it supports multiple languages simultaneously – no need to switch manually before typing. This is pretty cool for someone who regularly writes in two languages. The keyboard also features arrow keys that are convenient when your fingers are too fat to position the cursor correctly with a stab.

Swype’s number one feature is the Swype short-cuts that enable everything from editing (copy, cut, paste, selection) to changing modes (alphabetic versus numeric). In fact there are enough short-cuts that mastering them would make you a Swype-ninja!

Both SwiftKey and Swype feature alternate characters on each key that are accessed by long-pressing, so it’s much easier to insert symbol characters and numbers.

Android’s keyboard is straight forward and simple to use, and although some of the more advanced features exposed by SwiftKey and Swype are longer to reach the un-cluttered interface is very appealing. One thing that is sorely lacking is the alternates for each key, usually available via long-press, that are found only via symbol mode. Here are some keyboard shortcuts that can save your time.

Accuracy and Prediction

Swype is the most accurate keyboard of the three, but SwiftKey is working in two languages (English and French) without missing too many words so that’s quite impressive. The Android keyboard does a pretty good job too.

Speed

The fastest of the keyboards for me is Swype. The slowest is the Android keyboard, but only when the hovering prediction is activated. The SwiftKey keyboard is just as responsive as Swype.

Unique Features

Each keyboard has some thing it does a little differently than the rest.

In the case of the SwiftKey it also featured more skins or styles than Swype and has pretty cool looking gesture-trail.

What made Swype stand-out to me was Swype’s crowd-sourced dictionary if you choose to participate in their Borg collective.

Of course the Android keyboard features pure Android goodness! But most interestingly it hovers the predicted word along the gesture trail so you can keep your eyes focussed, no need to keep looking above the keyboard to see which word is being inserted.

In the end I always come back to the Swype keyboard. I really appreciate the accuracy, the short-cuts, and clean interface.

Cross-posted on Schultzter’s Blog


Comments

6 responses to “Swype vs. SwiftKey vs. Google Android Keyboards”

  1. Touch pal is the best keyboard I have ever used on a Android device

  2. Jason Matsoukas

    The lack of shortcuts in SwiftKey is a deal breaker for me. Always go back to Swype.

    Hope they fix it’s instabilities, small bugs, and resource needs.

  3. TouchPal is the best of them all.. wave and curve features are amazing .. editing is much easier with the editing tab…plus the plugins make it easier to personalise the keyboard…..it feels different.. it feels next generation thing

  4. Thanks for the article. So far I’m sticking with Swype. I’ve tried the others but always go back. Definitely the most accurate.

  5. I’ve never saw TouchPad before!

    After this post, i’ve installed it and im amazed with this keyboard.
    I have to say cause i’ve used all the keyboards mentioned here, Swype, SwiftKey, Android default and others, but TouchPal is so far better!

    Smooth, fast and functional!
    The only thing i miss is the capability of write in 2 languages at the very same time without have to change the dict.
    Anyway, i can survive without it =D

    Cheers! ^^

  6. I’ve been looking for an easy way to copy and paste. It’s so easy to lose your selection when using the tap-hold, especially in browsers that keep shrinking and expanding nonstop.