I have heard that a lot. That the ios version is more or less the bare minimal of features. Is the android version much much better?
Swype has the "long hold for a symbol/digit", but neither Swype and the native iOS keyboard work in the split screen mode, can you elaborate more on this "thumb feature"?
My impression of the iOS version of SwiftKey was that the developer wanted to get the keyboard out on day one of iOS 8. It only has the essential features which is their text prediction and auto correction capability. This SwiftKey's feature that I feel sets them apart from other keyboards that I have tried.
The other nice feature that was included is the ability to sync multiple devices. Their cloud feature transfers my dictionary and typing style over to other devices including iOS devices. From what I have tried so far (which is very little), this transfer seemed to have worked. The text prediction is pretty good.
The Android version has a number of features that I really want to see in iOS. They are multiple keyboard layouts and long tapping for symbols and digits.
The thumb layout I was referring to is a layout where the keyboard is split in the middle. It is like how in the iPad stock keyboard, you can set it so that it is split in the middle. I normally type in landscape orientation. On my Galaxy S3, I find it hard to stretch my thumb to the centre of the screen to type the G and H keys. The thumb layout splits the keyboard so I don't have to reach so far to type these keys.
There are actually 3 layouts to choose from. The full layout is the normal one that is the only one available in iOS. The thumb layout is what I just described that is split in the middle. The compact layout is one that is designed for typing one-handed on a large phone. It is like the full layout, but smaller and shifted over to one side. That way, when you type one handed, your thumb can reach all keys on the keyboard. The compact layout is designed for large phones.
There is also an Undock feature that splits the keyboard and makes it float. It is similar to the iPad split keyboard, but you can move both halves of the keyboard around the screen. It is designed for tablets.
SwiftKey on Android also allows you to change the height of the keyboard. A shorter keyboard allows you to see more of the screen. A taller keyboard makes it easier to type as the keys are bigger.
The other feature I really miss is the ability to long tap a key to type a symbol or a digit. All of the keys on the keyboard show an alternate symbol or digit. For instance, when you see the Q key, you also see a 1 that is a little lighter. If you just tap Q, you get a Q. If you tap and hold for a little bit, you will see a 1 appear. Release and you will type a 1. The iOS keyboard only has this feature for the period. If you tap and hold the period, you will then see a number of other punctuation marks. You slide your finger over to the punctuation mark you want to type and release to type it.
I have grown accustomed to Android keyboards that have this feature. SwiftKey, Swype and Kii on Android has this feature. I find that I am just really used to typing punctuation marks and digits this way. Typing these characters on the iOS keyboard is just really slow for me.
SwiftKey on iOS is also really buggy. I type in landscape often and the landscape keyboard with SwiftKey on my iPhone 5S has too many issues to be worth using. I'm sure it will take time to fix these bugs and add the features I like. For now, I'm just using the stock iOS keyboard.
