iOS 16 Features an All-New iPhone Keyboard Layout Option

[zorinlynx]

A keyboard layout which causes you to alternate hands more will help for a phone keyboard as well, because your typing will be faster. While you're typing a letter, if the next letter is on your other hand you will naturally start moving your thumb towards it before you finish typing the first one. This speeds things up noticeably.

 

[Le Big Mac]

Very funky! Will be interesting to see how people manage with a single hand as many benefits of Dvorak's are based on a two-handed layout on a standard computer. Nice option though!

Was thinking along similar lines - I'm not sure what works best for a keyboard where you use 10 fingers necessarily is the best for where you use two thumbs (typically). Not that Qwerty is best for either, other than it's ingrained.

 

[xpxp2002]

I'm genuinely surprised this wasn't an option earlier. I never tried to use Dvorak with iOS, but I always assumed it was an option.

 

[lewis_cooper]

I just want them to.move the.period key away.from the space.bar. 😭

 

[xpxp2002]

I just want them to.move the.period key away.from the space.bar. 😭

I just wish they'd add the comma to the alpha side of the keyboard. Switching between numeric and alpha for every comma is annoying.

 

[FasterQuieter]

You know you can go back to the old way right? Join me in rejecting "the future" 😆

I did last year, but when they changed the general search as well this time I figured there was no point fighting it any more. It does make sense ergonomically, my brain just refuses to adjust. Drives me crazy every day.

 

[Cheesehead Dave]

Switching to Dvorak would be a completely New World.

 

[diegotheplantboy]

iOS 16 adds native support for the Dvorak keyboard layout on the iPhone, providing users with an alternative to the standard QWERTY layout. The newly added option was noted by @aaronp613 and others back in July, but the feature stayed largely under the radar until it was highlighted this week by Ars Technica and The Verge.

Dvorak was designed to make two-handed typing faster and more ergonomic compared to QWERTY. Patented by August Dvorak in 1936, the layout reduces finger motion by placing all vowels in the middle row on the left side of the keyboard, while commonly-used consonants are positioned on the right side. However, given that iPhone typing involves your thumbs only, Dvorak is not as beneficial on the iPhone.

On an iPhone updated to iOS 16, the Dvorak layout can be enabled in the Settings app under General → Keyboard → Keyboards → English → Dvorak, alongside existing QWERTY, AZERTY, and QWERTZ options. Dvorak is only available for English.

Prior to iOS 16, using Dvorak on the iPhone required installing a third-party keyboard from the App Store or connecting a capable external hardware keyboard. Dvorak has also long been supported on the Mac and can be enabled in the System Settings app under Keyboard → Input Sources by clicking the plus sign and selecting Dvorak.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1553156408329248768

Article Link: iOS 16 Features an All-New iPhone Keyboard Layout Option

You saved me with this because I was literally almost buying into a dvorak app last night

 

[bodonnell202]

Amazing that a keyboard layout that was designed in the 1800s to slow typing and prevent clashing of typewriter typebars continues to be the standard on modern keyboards and touch devices. Maybe I should buy a Dvorak keyboard and give this a try...

 

[david0128]

I taught myself the Dvorak keyboard when I'd read about it a few years ago. Just as a challenge really as I was using a QWERTY layout keyboard and just ignoring the printed keycaps (you can get a typing tutor programme). It definitely involves less finger stretching so it's physically more relaxing, but even better it confuses the hell out of anyone trying to use your keyboard!

 

[erikkfi]

This will be good for the dozens of Dvorak keyboard users.

 

[sw1tcher]

Different but in some ways more efficient. It's like a using an RPN vs an algebraic calculator.

 

[usr0]

Dvorak is the black coffee of keyboard layouts.

Not being sarcastic, what would that phrase mean?

 

[symphony]

Changing layouts seem impossible for me, unless I change every keyboard of mine.

Can I pop off my MacBook keys and rearrange them like the iPhone keyboard?

 

[ian87w]

The only thing I want is real support for dual language. We Indonesians interchange a lot of our native and english words in our conversation. Really like the dual language support on GBoard and Samsung keyboard on Android. Apple's just doesn't do it for English and Indonesian. Really annoying having to change language just for one word. And Whatever "learning" Apple does on its stock keyboard, it seems to be doing a poor job for me.

 

[WestonHarvey1]

Not being sarcastic, what would that phrase mean?

It's a joke that accuses black coffee drinkers/Dvorak keyboard users of showing off their masochism.

 

[azentropy]

Tried Dvorak in the 90s, I did like it. However as I started switching between systems including some shared more often it just became too cumbersome and I gave up.

This is good for people want to use Dvorak on both their system and iPhone.

 

[imnotthewalrus]

I'm just chiming in to say that it is WONDERFUL to see a post on MR that doesn't result in a lot of snarky comments and follow-up comments!

 

[Pezimak]

I say good luck to anyone trying to learn a new keyboard layout! As others said QWERTY is engraved in our brains!

 

[JosephAW]

After transitioning to iOS 14 I forced myself to learn Apple's slide-to-type implementation. It has some quirks of false input but it's definitely getting faster than typing and it works with either hand and it's very forgiving and it's to the point where I don't have to look at the screen at times to type like we used to do with the old T9 phones.
I keep trying dictation but it's a bag full of hurt

 

[JosephAW]

I'm surprised there's not a Morse code keyboard, the kids can learn it and be ready for their military career.
Or at least a chorded keyboard?

 

[TheOldChevy]

My "national" keyboard is QWERTZ and my "functional" keyboard is QWERTY. Little difference you think ? Try to mix ctrl-Y with ctrl-Z (just for one example). Even the Enter key has a different form factor.

 

[slothinker]

As a one-time typesetter, I've used the Dvorak keyboard for 45 years. Apple has been resistant to adding Dvorak to IOS; I'm very glad they have finally taken this step. Once you learn Dvorak, you can switch back and forth easily (like speaking a foreign language, I guess). It is easier on your hands if you type a lot.

In competition, the world's fastest typists always used Dvorak or similar as compared w/ QWERTY. Fun fact: The Dvorak keyboard was developed by Prof. Dvorak
under a grant by the Carnegie Foundation which was enthused about speeding up the output of secretaries attempting to use qwerty manual typewriters.

Ironically thumb typists might do better w/ the QWERTY arrangement because commonly used letters are more adjacent w/ each other under the Dvorak system.

 

[TheOldChevy]

I'm surprised there's not a Morse code keyboard, the kids can learn it and be ready for their military career.
Or at least a chorded keyboard?

It could be a very small keyboard with just ".", "-" and "space". Very efficient.

 

[xpxp2002]

I'm surprised there's not a Morse code keyboard, the kids can learn it and be ready for their military career.
Or at least a chorded keyboard?

Morse code was discontinued about 20 years ago.

Morse code - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

MORSE, NO MORE

……! ……! … …! It’s SOS time for Morse code. After a century and a half as a lingua franca of long-distance communication, the deliberate dots and dashes are…

www.courant.com