There’s an app for everything these days. From sleep monitoring to apps that remind you to drink water, developers have created apps for everyone’s needs. Some aim at improving your lifestyle, or entertain you, others help you improve your productivity. And in this ocean of Android apps, there’s one type of application that might still raise some questions for some users. And that is keyboard apps. From cutesy, sparkly keyboard themes, to productivity-fueled features, these apps have been popping up more and more often.
What is a third-party keyboard app?
In short, it’s an application developed by a company other than your phone’s manufacturer. It’s meant to replace your default keyboard with one that can be customized and has a lot more features. Great examples are: Swype Keyboard, SwiftKey, and Redraw Keyboard Emoji & Themes.
How does it work?
It works exactly like your default keyboard. It’s downloaded and installed like any other app you may own. Once installed, you can select the keyboard in your settings menu and use it as you would the default one. It works the same and you still have the text prediction and autocorrect options.
Why would I consider getting one?
A keyboard app usually has more features than your default keyboard. Most people think of colorful themes and sparkly emojis, but they can be much more than that. Here’s how a third-party keyboard can make your life just a bit easier:
- Faster typing – you can customize your keyboard to your style of typing by choosing whether you want your keys to the right or left, depending on which hand you typically use to type, or split to accommodate typing with both thumbs.
- It can look different every day – typically, a keyboard app includes various themes that you can use to personalize your keyboard to your own style. Regardless of whether you like solid colors, or different images and textures, there’s a theme for everyone.
- Multiple language support – most third-party keyboards also support several languages making it much easier to switch between languages you type in, without switching to the settings menu.
- Text prediction and autocorrect – Just like your run-of-the-mill default keyboard, all third-party keyboards also feature the text prediction and autocorrect functions. The difference you may come across is that some keyboard apps also have emoji prediction, and a far better autocorrect feature.
- Different layouts – You can also change your keyboard’s layout, from the standard QWERTY, to AZERTY, QWERTZ, Dvorak, and Colemak. So, no matter your preference, or language, you can use a keyboard layout that allows you to type more efficiently.
- Translation – a lot of apps also include instant text translation not only for the texts you receive, but for the ones you send as well. This is especially useful if you talk to people from different countries a lot. Or if you’re trying to learn another language and want to double-check your writing.
- Google Docs integration – let it not be said that keyboard apps do nothing for your productivity. An interesting feature you might find in a keyboard app is an integration with Google Docs. This allows you to send files directly through your keyboard, without the need to access another application to, for example, send an email.
As you can see, third-party keyboards are not strictly designed to make your 13-year-old niece happy with cutesy themes. While keyboard apps may not be the first thing on your mind when you’re looking for a new app, they can play a pretty important role in your day to day life. Whether you’re looking for a boost in productivity, or just want a little help typing more efficiently. This, in the end, falls right in place with the previous statement that there’s an app for everything, to cover anyone’s needs. But, after all, is that not why developers create mobile apps?
