HOW TO MASTER THE KEYBOARD

Apps to Help Boost Your Typing Speed

While iOS supplies its own excellent keyboard and predictive text features, for some, it’s just not quick enough. Eager typists want additional features, alternative methods of entry, and—most of all—speed. As someone who takes texting and on-the-go content creation seriously, I've evaluated several options for the quickest way to get my message across on my iPhone. These apps have improved my typing speed exponentially. They just might help you as well!

With iOS 8 on your phone, you'll be able to make third party apps like these your default keyboard. To learn more about iOS 8, turn to page 16. TouchPal Keyboard (Free) Are you an Android convert looking for a worthy iOS alternative to Swype? You need TouchPal, which allows you to zip from letter to letter with lightning speed using its sliding input system. The method can take a few tries to master, but once you figure it out, you'll wonder how you ever got along without it. SwiftKey Note (Free) SwiftKey, an Android favorite for years, is now available on iOS. Its improved interface lets you glide through sentences like a seasoned pro, autocorrecting words as you go and offering suggestions for your next word before you even type it. SwiftKey is built on the Evernote platform, backing up notes and learning your typing style based on your Evernote archive. Once you get accustomed to SwiftKey and its startlingly accurate predictive text technology, you’ll find yourself spending less time rereading and deleting words from text messages and emails. FlickKey Keyboard Notes ($2.99) FlickKey may look slightly ominous, but don't let its unusual key arrangements scare you away. It's actually quite handy, with six square buttons adorned with letters on the top row and punctuation buttons on the bottom. You can choose to either tap or swipe, and once you memorize letter placement, you'll be writing novels on your phone in no time. MessagEase (Free) MessagEase is one of the most capable typing apps you can find on the App Store. Its streamlined keyboard, which features larger and fewer keys than Apple’s default keyboard, is designed to make the letters you use frequently most accessible. Once you get acclimated to the sliding motions and hierarchy of the letters, MessagEase will act as a powerful replacement for the original iPhone keyboard.