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Touch typing on iPad PRO possible

D

dhc921

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 18, 2009
26
7
I just tried using both hands touch typing on the iPad PRO full on screen keyboard and it is amazing. I still made some mistakes, but with the auto correction it is definitely better than many of the compact sized Bluetooth keyboards.

This is a game changer for me on iPad pro. I have never been able to write an lengthy email on iPads and having a full size keyboard has made an iPad very useful.

Try it!
 
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True touch typing is very difficult when you can't 'feel' the keys. One of the reasons I really don't like the keyboard on the rMB, just feels like you're typing on a flat surface. Although you can still get ~95/100WPM with these kind of keyboards (so not to say you can't type quickly), I would never use one out of choice.
 
I don't mind using the onscreen keyboard to type, doing it right now to make this post. One of my main complaints when it comes to touch typing is because I'm able to type relatively fast, sometimes when I'm typing buttons next to each other, sometimes the iPad thinks I'm doing the 2-finger gesture to move the cursor when I'm just trying to type two letters. But beyond that, I think I'm pretty good using the onscreen keyboard.
 
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The whole point of using iPad vs laptop is the need for a physical keyboard, IMO. If I can do it on the iPP(not possible in iPad air2, cuz the layout is different). If I can somehow figure out a way to get rid of need for a physical KB, the iPP is a real keeper.

Maybe Touch Fire can figure out a solution eventually then we are talking about a ultimate solution?
 
Touch typing is never going to be acceptable on a laptop/email/tablet device. Reason: everybody rests their hands/fingers on a keyboard. You cant rest your fingers on touch, so it is not ergonomic.

Not to mention that a touch keyboard takes up the whole screen.
 
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MH01 said:
I just had a go, nah...... I need physical keys to touch type.
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That's me as well, there was a similar thread I think a long time ago about touch typing on the iPad (non-pro, non-mini) and I just can't. I need a physical keyboard and its tactile feedback to be able to type.

FWIW, I'm been using a computer/keyboard for over 30 years so my fingers know where to go, but still need the physical feedback :)
 
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maflynn said:
That's me as well, there was a similar thread I think a long time ago about touch typing on the iPad (non-pro, non-mini) and I just can't. I need a physical keyboard and its tactile feedback to be able to type.

FWIW, I'm been using a computer/keyboard for over 30 years so my fingers know where to go, but still need the physical feedback :)
Click to expand...

Same here. I need to assume the position on the Keys before starting to touch type. I actually like keyboards that give good feedback, usually mechanical. The retina MacBook is ..... Not my happy place Touch typing due to the feedback, but I am getting used to it.
 
dhc921 said:
I just tried using both hands touch typing on the iPad PRO full on screen keyboard and it is amazing. I still made some mistakes, but with the auto correction it is definitely better than many of the compact sized Bluetooth keyboards.

This is a game changer for me on iPad pro. I have never been able to write an lengthy email on iPads and having a full size keyboard has made an iPad very useful.

Try it!
Click to expand...

trashing it snow font so good for me.and it' fm an excellent grouch theits.
Translation using the one finger method:
"Trying it now not so good for me. And I'm an excellent touch typist."
Maybe I should consider getting a keyboard.

Aha! Just discovered that using a stylus on the onscreen keyboard works phenomenally well for me. I find it almost as speedy/accurate as touch typing. And it's more handy then lugging a keyboard around. Compare this (using stylus to type this right now) over my touch typing attempt, above. :rolleyes:
 
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I definitely agree regarding the on screen keyboard and how easy it is to touch type on it. It's even made me rethink getting the keyboard case as I find this perfect tbh and combined with the Smart Cover its a lot better to use in various situations on the couch and in bed instead of say having the keyboard take up extra unwanted space.
 
The onscreen keyboard is one of the most attractive things about the Pro to me. A number row finally! No need to keep switching back and forth. I have zero interest in the new keyboards for the Pro (or any iPad).
 
I'm still waiting for mine to get here, but in the store I played around with typing quite a bit and actually preferred the touch keyboard to the smart keyboard cover.

My current fantasy is being able to just have the iPP + regular smart cover and ditch any physical drag-along. I'll see if this actually pans out, but my thought is that physical keyboards are a "crutch" for us older folks used to keyboards, and that this young generation growing up on iOS will never need such things... so I might as well figure it out if that's where it's all heading!
 
thinayr said:
I'm still waiting for mine to get here, but in the store I played around with typing quite a bit and actually preferred the touch keyboard to the smart keyboard cover.

My current fantasy is being able to just have the iPP + regular smart cover and ditch any physical drag-along. I'll see if this actually pans out, but my thought is that physical keyboards are a "crutch" for us older folks used to keyboards, and that this young generation growing up on iOS will never need such things... so I might as well figure it out if that's where it's all heading!
Click to expand...

This! I bet 20 years from now they will be laughing at the antiquated notion of a physical keyboard. Just the Pro and Smart Cover is how I have been using it. Adding the physical keyboards to me makes no sense compared to using a new MacBook.
 
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Yes, it's surprisingly capable. So much so that I almost (almost) don't even want the keyboard cover.

I've noticed that typing with it in the flat, angled mode (with the smart cover, instead of the upright mode) is very nice. At first I'd miss a few keys and it would slow me down by correcting myself, but once I learned to trust autocorrect and let it do its thing, it's very, very natural.

And the number row, with the shifted symbols above the numbers even, is a welcome addition. Hands down, this is the best on-screen keyboard I've ever used, and could easily see it as no longer being the sort of barrier to entry that it is on smaller devices when it comes to replacing a laptop.
 
I type 110+ WPM and if I get the Pro completely flat, I find I can type ok on it. I wrote an amazon review using it. It's not exactly comfortable, but it does work. The mistakes probably bring my speed down to 85WPM though versus my physical keyboard speed.
 
i was playing with ipp today again and using Pages... when you type with the on screen keyboard using Pages on landscape, do you feel that the keyboard is slow? the lag was notable and i had to type slower otherwise it was skipping letters.
 
The virtual keyboard on the iPad Pro is the closest I've seen to a "real" keyboard. Not quite the same a true touch typing, though.
 
It didn't take me long to get used to the iPhone's keyboard when I got my first iPhone back in 2008, so when I got my first iPad in 2010, I embraced the on-screen keyboard and I got really good at it. I'm just as fast on my iPad with autocorrect as I am on my MacBook Pro. I type around 80-90 wpm.

I did try typing on the iPad Pro's keyboard, and I'm sure I could get used to it, but the button layout was so much different than my iPad Air 2's, so I made so many mistakes.
 
I'm touch typing this post on my iPad Pro virtual keyboard. If I slow myself down I'm pretty much word-perfect. If I try to go fast I either fly at amazing speed, or it all goes very horribly wrong. With concentration and practice, I could probably type much much faster than on a physical keyboard.

I find the worst part are things like the shift key, which doesn't always seem to engage. I also don't make as much use of the suggestions at the top of the keyboard as I should.

But I'm good enough with it that I sent back the smart keyboard, which didn't add enough value for me. Certainly not at the price.
 
Sylon said:
I don't mind using the onscreen keyboard to type, doing it right now to make this post. One of my main complaints when it comes to touch typing is because I'm able to type relatively fast, sometimes when I'm typing buttons next to each other, sometimes the iPad thinks I'm doing the 2-finger gesture to move the cursor when I'm just trying to type two letters. But beyond that, I think I'm pretty good using the onscreen keyboard.
Click to expand...

I agree... it needs a better "rejection" algorithm that ignores two fingers while text is flying in.
 
Channan said:
I feel your pain. I can never type xGB (ex. 8GB, 16GB, etc.) if I'm typing fast. The B always comes out lowercase the first time.
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my only issue with the ipp keyboard:

iTIb56U.jpg

(i'm not used to having the symbols/special characters on the same screen yet, so when i go to hit the '?123' key quickly, i get a face full of faces :D
 
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