Best Alternative Keyboard Apps for Android and How to Install Them
You spend a lot of time tapping away at your smartphone’s keyboard, so it makes sense to have a keyboard that’s as useful as possible—both Android and iOS let you change the default keyboard to something else.
There are many different options for Android keyboards, and you can install them just like you install any other app from the Google Play Store. Your phone recognizes them as keyboards, and you can switch between them with one tap (you can return to the standard keyboard at any time).
The keyboard you currently use depends on the make and model of your Android phone. Pixel devices use Google’s own Gboard keyboard, while Galaxy phones use Samsung’s keyboard . Below you will find some of the most useful and well-designed alternatives currently available.
On Pixel phones, you can control the keyboard from Android Settings via System > Keyboard ; On Galaxy phones, select General Controls > Keyboard List and Defaults from the Settings menu. You can quickly switch between keyboards by tapping the keyboard icon in the lower right corner when the keyboard is displayed on the screen.
Flexi
If you’re looking to completely upgrade your Android keyboard, Fleksy is hard to beat: it gives you plenty of different themes to choose from, adds mini-apps right to the keyboard itself, and introduces a ton of gestures for deleting words, switching languages, and more. It takes some time to master the basics of the app, but it’s worth it.
You have stickers, emoji, GIFs and even web search right at your fingertips from the Fleksy interface, and the number of ways to customize the keyboard’s appearance (in addition to choosing from different themes) is impressive. ability to set keyboard height, padding between keys, default font and much more.
Microsoft SwiftKey
SwiftKey is one of the most fully featured keyboards you can currently get for Android, and since it’s now developed by Microsoft, it has a lot of Copilot AI tricks built into it. If you’re stuck looking for inspiration when it comes to what you When you write, generative AI will create emails, social media posts, text messages, jokes, poetry, and more.
It’s all very customizable too. Dive into SwiftKey’s settings and you can change your keyboard colors and layout, control settings like autocorrect and auto-capitalization, and even adjust the strength of the vibration that accompanies each keystroke. It does pretty much everything you’d want from a keyboard app, and it does it well.
Simple keyboard
Sometimes less is more, and Simple Keyboard is perfect for those who want a minimalist keyboard design and nothing more. If you’re frustrated by the clutter you see on your current keyboard, it might be worth switching—you won’t be distracted by any extra features, pop-ups, tutorials, or other surprises.
The app “doesn’t and probably never will” have emojis, GIFs, a spell checker, or swipe typing, as the developer proudly states on the keyboard listing page, although the app isn’t completely devoid of any customization options: You can customize the color and height of the keyboard, and show or hide the number row at the top.
CleverType
These days, AI can be built into everything, including your Android keyboard. CleverType is equipped with the power of GPT-4, although you’ll have to pay $5 per month to get all the advanced features (these data centers aren’t cheap). There are many more features you can try for free.
The keyboard can suggest spelling and grammar suggestions, change the tone or length of the text you write, and also gives you access to the ChatGPT hint window with a couple of taps. It’s all very customizable too, and you can change the colors and layout quite easily, as well as access features like gestures and one-handed mode.
Typically
Most Android keyboards are variations of the same idea, but Typewise is trying to do something truly new by tweaking the standard keyboard layout to offer something that will help you type faster and with fewer errors. This is a keyboard specifically designed for smaller screens, with hexagonal keys that make numbers easier to press.
Autocorrect works well, there’s support for swipe gestures and multiple languages, and you can choose from a variety of different themes and colors. If you really like Typewise, you can sign up for a Pro subscription for $2 per month, which gives you more options and customization to further customize the application.