I have to disagree with at least the keyboard. Ever since getting acclimated to the Moto X keyboard, whenever I go to use my 5C keyboard, I find it pales in comparison even with auto correction. It's really nice being able to customize my personal dictionary, or swiping if I'm in one hand usage-mode, or even selecting words from the suggestion bar. I also find editing on the Android keyboard easier. The cursor is just easier to move around. I don't have to wait for the magnifying glass to open up. Also, in general, I find the Android keyboard is more responsive. I notice the 5C sometimes doesn't get everything I type, which then leads to unintended auto corrections that are just wrong.
I sincerely hope iOS 8 brings a much needed update to the keyboard.
Regarding the iOS keyboard, I find it easy to type on. It did not take me long to get used to typing on it. I think it took a couple of weeks before I felt I was reasonably proficient. I do find it quite comfortable to use. I generally type in landscape using two thumbs.
I think the auto-correct is pretty good. It feels as good as Kii and other Android keyboards I have used. One thing that I was impressed with is that it once was able to properly correct me when I accidentally pressed the space bar instead of one of the letters on the bottom row. I only recall this being successful once. It failed the other times. That's one more time than any of the Android keyboards I have used. Normally, when you press the space bar, the keyboard thinks you have finished typing the word and any letters belong to a new word.
My biggest issue is that it is a hassle to type any punctuation (other than the period to end a sentence) or numbers. I'm used to the Kii keyboard which makes it easy with number pad and punctuation symbols written on the keys that you access by long tapping it. Having to switch to a number/symbol layout and then looking for the symbol and then possibly not finding it and then having to select the second symbol layout is rather frustrating at times. I haven't gotten used to this yet.
Gesture typing like in Swype would be nice as well. On my Android phone, I would use gesture typing when using the device one handed. So far, I hardly ever type in portrait. I was pretty much forced to during the setup. When I first started configuring the iPhone, I could not switch to landscape mode when entering information like my Apple ID. I turned the phone sideways, but the screen stayed in portrait. I think I had to select the input field first before I could switch to landscape. I didn't know it at the time and found out later.
I still make errors when typing. I make too many on touch screen keyboards no matter which keyboard I use. On the iOS keyboard, I sometimes accidently hit the shift key when trying to type the letter A. This is actually one of my more common errors. The auto-correct fails to correct this type of keying error I make. On top of it, if I backspace, the keyboard thinks I still want to capitalise the next letter and I end up typing a capital letter instead of a lower case letter which causes me to have to correct the word again.
I would have liked the keyboard to give a better indication that I had pressed the shift key. On many Android keyboards, the keys are shown in lower case. When you press the shift key, the keys are shown in upper case to better indicate that you had pressed the shift key. On the iOS keyboard, the only indication you pressed the shift key is the shift key being highlighted which is not much of an indication. My left thumb is often in the way and I may not realise the shift key is pressed until I finish typing the word.
The iOS keyboard does not suffer from some issues I have with the Kii keyboard. The Kii layout I use has a number pad. When typing, if I accidentally press a number instead of a letter, the autocorrect assumes that whatever I type is a proper word and refuses to auto correct it.
I do enable gesture typing (like Swype) on Kii. I use gesture typing in portrait, but not in landscape. In landscape, I always just peck the keys with my thumbs. Sometimes, I accidentally swipe my thumb across more than one key. Kii thinks that I intend to gesture type and the result is Kii thinking I'm typing a new word when I accidently swipe my thumb a little. Unlike the Swype keyboard, gesture typing is not disabled in landscape (if you enable gesture typing).
I do feel the overall typing experience on the iOS to be pretty good. The shortcomings are more to do with a lack of features that I am used to on Android keyboards that I use. The iOS keyboard is pretty much the same one that came with the original iPhone. I think that it could use some improvements. When comparing the keyboard to other ones I have used on Android, I would rate it about the same as stock keyboards on the Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC Desire Z. Most third party keyboards I have tried are a significant step above the iOS keyboard an stock keyboards on Android phones.
