Returned to iPhone, and the keyboard is still terrible in iOS 5

I cannot stress how poor the iOS keyboard is on the iPhone. I recently switched back to 4S and there are many things about this phone I like, but typing remains a sore spot. It's almost a deal breaker.

It's not just that it misses keys (which it does constantly--now I know where all those funny iPhone typo/autocorrection websites come from), but just other little things, like how it doesn't recognize and separate words when a bottom-row letter is pressed instead of the spacebar ('likebthis' will become 'like this' with the ICS keyboard) or how if iPHone thinks you've made a typo, but you're actually typing either slang or something, on ICS you can hit backspace once and it'll "un-autocorrect" it back to what you originally wrote. With the iOS keyboard, it's hit or miss trying to tap that X button to cancel their autocorrection. These are just two examples. There are many other little things that ICS keyboard just does so much more intuitively, which the iOS keyboard does not.

The shortcuts help mitigate the problem, but it's a roundabout way. The keyboard should be able to keep up. I have to type so much slower in order to avoid typos. I don't know if it's the screen size or what (because I noticed iOS keyboard is infinitely better on the iPad in either keyboard-mode or split-key mode), but the keyboard desperately needs to be updated or revamped in iOS 6.

And I know I can't be the only one who's experiencing this. I say this because I think it speaks to a bigger issue, and that is, iPhone users tend to deny that the phone has any faults, and some will even go as far to claim it as perfect, or "it just works." I've said this before: anyone who has genuinely used both platforms (Android, and specifically ICS, and iOS. Sorry Windows) will admit they both have their share of problems. This is called intellectual honesty, and when people taut that something is perfect when it's not, it actually does disservice to the product. If no one ever admits this, there is no reason for Apple to make improvements. Maybe this is why the keyboard has barely been upgraded.

Anyway, thanks for listening, and if you experience the same thing, do chime up.

Keep in mind, I'm speaking specifically about stock Ice Cream Sandwich keyboard. I'm not sure what Droid X or HTC or others use. The ICS keyboard is leaps and bounds ahead of iOS'. I can type with confidence and at my own speed (relatively fast) and rarely see a missed key. And, as mentioned earlier, all the little things it does is so much smarter and attuned to what's going on.

This is simply not true on iOS and the iPhone. I'm constantly see "wht" or "he" (when trying to say 'hey'), or "bein", or the worse and most frequent failure is "you" and any derivative of that word. I'm constantly seeing "ou" or "yu" or when trying to type "you're" it comes out as "yure" or "yore".

Like I said, shortcuts mitigate this problem, but it's a cumbersome and roundabout way; hardly a solution.

EDIT: I'm currently messaging with people on the phone, and another frequent word it can't get right is "this". It always comes out as "thi." I'm typing slower to try to avoid it, but it occurs nonetheless.

I'm not calling anyone a liar here, and I understand everyone thumbs at different speeds, but I have to stress how important the last paragraph in my OP is.

The funny thing is, sometimes it'll be buttery smooth (this is more rare than common) and other times it'll blatantly miss keys. Something isn't right with how this keyboard runs. I don't know what it is, but it's something.

Roessnakhan said:

The best keyboard (if you can really call it that) that I've tried is Swype, its one of the few things I miss from Android. The iPhone keyboard has gotten worse over time - though I don't know the reason - but autocorrect is horrible now. If I had to rank them it would be:

1) Android (Swype)
2) WP7
3) iOS
4) Stock Android Keyboard

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Swype is novel and impressive, as is Swiftkey. I didn't bother mentioning other keyboards because I didn't want to pretend Apple will ever allow them on iOS. Simply comparing stock to stock.

I disagree with where you've put stock Android on your list. I don't want to belabor my point, but I'm speaking solely about ICS.

And this isn't necessarily directed at you Roe... Anyone who has used ICS on the Galaxy Nexus, I cannot believe would claim it isn't more responsive than iOS.

AlphaVictor87 said:

I will agree its not the best keyboard ever, but i doubt every keyboard out there is "perfect"

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No, no keyboard is perfect. That's the crux of my last [and important] paragraph in my OP.

I'm saying, ICS stock keyboard is faster, more intuitive and clever, and more reliable to type on than iOS keyboard.

EDIT: And, more importantly, I'm also saying people need to admit the iOS keyboard severely needs improvement.

RenoG said:

Serious post here. You mentioned that you have little to no issue when using the ipad (note bigger keyboard), could it be that you simply have huge fingers for such a small device? I personally don't have this issue and its not like we have a ton of whinny iphone keyboard threads all over the place. I know when the iphone first came out people fussed about it, I suppose folks got use to it I guess.

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Actually, I should clarify, I do see the same issue pop up on the iPad, just not as frequently. I don't believe I have large hands or fingers. Also, it doesn't explain why I can type much better on ICS when I was testing it out on the Nexus S (it's even better on the Galaxy Nexus, obviously).

EDIT: Maybe it's less frequent cause the iPad has 1 GB of RAM? Speculating.