I've had the opportunity to play around with this app/keyboard for a little while now and I've come to a few conclusions. Everyone is a bit different, so take my views with a grain of salt; I realise it's a subjective experience.
I'm always on the lookout for new keyboards for iOS, mainly because typing on the built-in keyboard feels so tedious. After reading some promising reports of this offering, I decided to give it a try. After a concerted effort to get the hang of this app's unique input method, I've come to the following conclusions:
PROS:
1) By mixing tap and swipe, this keyboard (in principle) allows for much faster typing than either tap or swipe on their own.
2) It is very customisable, so you can turn off all the battery draining 'features' quite easily. Changing themes is not limited to simple colour schemes; you can change everything from the 'texture' to the highlight colour.
3) While the tutorial could be more helpful, it's a good start to understanding the logic behind the adopted input method.
4) Quick access to various punctuation and 'precise' delete is quite well implemented and it's something that other 3rd party keyboard providers could learn from.
CONS
1) The app doesn't fit an individual's modified style of typing. In other words, if you don't type in the way the app 'intends' you to, then you'll be left with strange spaces in-between random words. So if I were to tap instead of swipe for part of a word, the app doesn't do a great job of recognising my intent, which kind of counteracts the benefits of the novel style. The native Apple keyboard, for instance (and others), are forgiving in a sense, whereas as this isn't so much.
2) There's a lot going on. All that customisability and functionality comes at a massive price. While the obnoxious 'flare' can be turned off, the setting screens are convoluted, too compacted (in the UI sense) and bloated (in the amount of stuff sense). It's a classic example and taking something functional (the keyboard) and turning it into something that is unnecessarily complicated. It seems they should leave the customisability restricted to the app and not the keyboard itself, where it can get in the way when typing in a text message, e-mail, etc.
3) There is a massive learning curve here. This is not inherently a bad thing, and it's great to fire a few extra neurons in the brain, but given how restrictive the input style is, rather than an intuitive, adaptive experience, we're left with something that is great in principle and requires a lot of initial patience, but is ultimately a series of functions that don't necessarily improve upon the user experience at all times.
In conclusion, I feel as if the marketing video for this app misrepresents how it will function in the 'real world'. It's as if it was built around a particular user's method toward a desired end, but it's not a one-size-fits-all experience. While swipe and indeed tap may not be the most efficient ways of typing, they remain intuitive and perhaps don't suffer from the same level of unnecessary convolution of the typing process. I look forward to seeing what improvements (i.e. the app's adaptability to unique styles) in future. All the best!
I'm always on the lookout for new keyboards for iOS, mainly because typing on the built-in keyboard feels so tedious. After reading some promising reports of this offering, I decided to give it a try. After a concerted effort to get the hang of this app's unique input method, I've come to the following conclusions:
PROS:
1) By mixing tap and swipe, this keyboard (in principle) allows for much faster typing than either tap or swipe on their own.
2) It is very customisable, so you can turn off all the battery draining 'features' quite easily. Changing themes is not limited to simple colour schemes; you can change everything from the 'texture' to the highlight colour.
3) While the tutorial could be more helpful, it's a good start to understanding the logic behind the adopted input method.
4) Quick access to various punctuation and 'precise' delete is quite well implemented and it's something that other 3rd party keyboard providers could learn from.
CONS
1) The app doesn't fit an individual's modified style of typing. In other words, if you don't type in the way the app 'intends' you to, then you'll be left with strange spaces in-between random words. So if I were to tap instead of swipe for part of a word, the app doesn't do a great job of recognising my intent, which kind of counteracts the benefits of the novel style. The native Apple keyboard, for instance (and others), are forgiving in a sense, whereas as this isn't so much.
2) There's a lot going on. All that customisability and functionality comes at a massive price. While the obnoxious 'flare' can be turned off, the setting screens are convoluted, too compacted (in the UI sense) and bloated (in the amount of stuff sense). It's a classic example and taking something functional (the keyboard) and turning it into something that is unnecessarily complicated. It seems they should leave the customisability restricted to the app and not the keyboard itself, where it can get in the way when typing in a text message, e-mail, etc.
3) There is a massive learning curve here. This is not inherently a bad thing, and it's great to fire a few extra neurons in the brain, but given how restrictive the input style is, rather than an intuitive, adaptive experience, we're left with something that is great in principle and requires a lot of initial patience, but is ultimately a series of functions that don't necessarily improve upon the user experience at all times.
In conclusion, I feel as if the marketing video for this app misrepresents how it will function in the 'real world'. It's as if it was built around a particular user's method toward a desired end, but it's not a one-size-fits-all experience. While swipe and indeed tap may not be the most efficient ways of typing, they remain intuitive and perhaps don't suffer from the same level of unnecessary convolution of the typing process. I look forward to seeing what improvements (i.e. the app's adaptability to unique styles) in future. All the best!
