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class77

macrumors 6502a
Nov 16, 2010
831
92
I tried Fleksy last year and I didn't think it was that great. It's not nearly as good as Swype on an Android. The new predictive text for the iPhone looks interesting
 

jclardy

macrumors 601
Oct 6, 2008
4,232
4,567
I don't see why the keyboard plug-in has to have "full access" in the first place. It's a possible security risk, the option shouldn't even be available in the first place. Keyboard plug-in should mean no communication and no storage.

Storage will be needed to create autocorrect dictionaries. Internet could be used for global learning keyboards.

I would guess that UITextFields marked as "Secure" (Password entry fields) would disable storage/internet capabilities.
 

andrea81

macrumors member
Aug 27, 2013
37
2
Great. I can't wait for my keyboard to have in-app purchases and iAds.


I hope Apple gets super-selective with the process of keyboards approval. There is no need for 1000 different keyboards in the store - actually 10 or 15 would probably cover every possible use case and preference. Once installed the keyboard influences the system as a whole (as opposed to a single app - which may provide a sandboxes crappy experience which ends the moment you press the home button). so each of them should at least work properly and integrate well.
 

donnaw

macrumors 65816
Apr 19, 2011
1,134
6
Austin TX
So far the word predictions just slow me down as I try to switch back and forth between the two inputs. Its faster to just keep typing, no matter how big the word is.

I don't know, I have a Nokia Lumnia 920 and the predictive keyboard on it is so good I can text pretty much just typing the first letter of each word and up pops several suggestions and all I have to do is select one and move on. And it seems to have learned my habits. I can fly using that keyboard. Whereas the one on my iPad with the auto correct does nothing but cause me headaches. I turned it off.

We'll see but all in all I think this is a rather nice feature. I used SwiftKey before and liked it and I think things have improved a lot since then. Looking forward to this implementation. I may actually consider an iPhone this fall.
 

Iwantedtoreply

macrumors newbie
Jun 4, 2014
4
0
The only thing I'd want this for is to get an iOS 6 keyboard in iOS 8 :p
Whose "great" idea was it to invert the caps lock key in iOS 7.1? Now it looks like it's always on.
 

JHankwitz

macrumors 68000
Oct 31, 2005
1,911
58
Wisconsin
When will Apple display a keyboard representing the proper glyphs? When Caps is not selected, the keys should display lower-case letters. With iOS 7, you can't easily tell if Caps is on or off.
 

flux73

macrumors 65816
May 29, 2009
1,019
134
Why are they called "third-party" keyboards? I'm familiar with the term and it's meaning, but since Apple makes everything in the iPhone, shouldn't any alternatives be called "second-party"?
You are the first-party ("I"). The other person you interact with is the second-party ("You"). Anyone else you refer to is the third-party ("he", "she", "it", "they").
 

avanpelt

macrumors 68030
Jun 2, 2010
2,963
3,885
I've had iPhones going back to the 3G and this is the most excited I've been about an iOS release. Can't wait for iOS 8!
 

Alenore

macrumors 6502
Apr 7, 2013
423
426
That's when a keyboard wants to communicate to the outside world. You're given the prompt before it can happen.
That's when a keyboard ask for permission to communicate with the outsdide world at the installation.
Which is quite exactly the same as the permission prompt you get. You know, something most people absolutely don't care about since they want the app anyway, or don't even think people could use the app to get their informations.
 

bluespark

macrumors 68040
Jul 11, 2009
3,166
4,117
Chicago
The only thing I'd want this for is to get an iOS 6 keyboard in iOS 8 :p
Whose "great" idea was it to invert the caps lock key in iOS 7.1? Now it looks like it's always on.

I agree re: the caps lock key. Even after many months with iOS7, I have to stop and think about the caps lock key every time I use it.
 

69Mustang

macrumors 604
Jan 7, 2014
7,895
15,045
In between a rock and a hard place
Read the post I quoted and straight into my reply. Makes perfect sense :)

You mean this quote: "I don't see why the keyboard plug-in has to have "full access" in the first place. It's a possible security risk, the option shouldn't even be available in the first place. Keyboard plug-in should mean no communication and no storage."?

I did read the quote and I was still trying to give you a way out. Not understanding why a keyboard app needs full system access. Valid question. Creating a strawman argument about security risk to lend credence to a lack of understanding; not valid. 3rd party keyboards have been around for a long time with no issues. More importantly, this is Apple we're talking about. Do you really think they would open a vector for a security breach? That makes no sense. As for communication, it could be as simple as having the ability to download languages or other keyboard styles. Or it could be something else... we don't know. Arbitrarily dismissing something without knowing anything about it seems nonsensical. I gave you, and still give you more credit than that.
 

Michael Scrip

macrumors 604
Mar 4, 2011
7,966
12,654
NC
Will I finally be able to have a keyboard with numbers along the top all the time?

I hope so... I seems to switch between letters and numbers quite often and it's annoying.

But another thing I want is cursor arrow keys. One app I use has them and it's very helpful.

I despise Apple's loupe magnification thingy for moving the cursor around.

x89b5H7.png


The best method of moving the cursor is by simply sliding your finger across the text. I've seen demos of that in jailbroken keyboards.
 

cmwade77

macrumors 65816
Nov 18, 2008
1,071
1,200
This is a huge step forward for Apple, but really Android has had this for so long now that people expect it to be a feature on Smartphones.

I really want Apple to get back to innovation.
 

stiligFox

macrumors 68000
Apr 24, 2009
1,560
1,636
10.0.1.3
It just occurred to me, maybe devs could use this to create custom game controlling keyboards? Or even a custom keyboard for a suite of apps?
 

djtech42

macrumors 65816
Jun 23, 2012
1,451
64
Mason, OH
I don't see why the keyboard plug-in has to have "full access" in the first place. It's a possible security risk, the option shouldn't even be available in the first place. Keyboard plug-in should mean no communication and no storage.

It was my understanding that plugins wouldn't have full access or storage unless the user allowed it in iOS 8.

I hope these keyboards add a tab key.
 

APlotdevice

macrumors 68040
Sep 3, 2011
3,145
3,861
Why are they called "third-party" keyboards? I'm familiar with the term and it's meaning, but since Apple makes everything in the iPhone, shouldn't any alternatives be called "second-party"?

Second party means an independent developer who is working under contract for the platform maker.
 

CADer

macrumors 6502
Apr 24, 2007
470
1
I hope so... I seems to switch between letters and numbers quite often and it's annoying.

But another thing I want is cursor arrow keys. One app I use has them and it's very helpful.

I despise Apple's loupe magnification thingy for moving the cursor around.

Image

The best method of moving the cursor is by simply sliding your finger across the text. I've seen demos of that in jailbroken keyboards.

Pages on iPad you just slide your finger left or right same with Textastic app, this should be in all text based apps.
 

poppy10

macrumors regular
Sep 25, 2012
231
257
UK
I don't see why the keyboard plug-in has to have "full access" in the first place. Keyboard plug-in should mean no communication and no storage.

Swiftkey and others use cloud or local storage - the keyboards adapt to your use, learn your typing patterns - they need to store that information somewhere. Plus some keyboards will scan your email or contacts to be able to detect non-English words (e.g. people's names or slang) that you use
 

fivedots

macrumors 6502a
Jun 29, 2011
695
3
My one question, stemming from my Android experience: What will happen with the iPhone's built-in dictation service? I liked Swype on Android but it also replaced the dictation services provider with Dragon and I preferred Google's default offering. Unfortunately, once the keyboard has mapped the key to their service of choice, there was no way to combine the two.
 

RollTide1017

macrumors 6502
Sep 28, 2009
264
102
Montgomery, AL
I'm not sure if I'll ever install another keyboard because the one that is already there has been fine for me but, I hope this is a sign that Apple may be getting closer to allowing you to use a different app as the default web browser or mail app.

I don't have a problem with Safari on the iPhone/iPad except that it isn't very useful for a Windows PC user like myself. That's why I use Chrome on my iOS devices, the easy bookmark sync, tab sync and history sync are great. If Apple ever releases Safari for Windows again I'd probably switch.

I just wish I could make Chrome the default on my iOS devices. Maybe third-party keyboards being allowed is a sign of a future where alternate browsers could be set as the default. I can dream.
 
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