How To Change Keyboard On Android And Best Ones To Try First - Screen Rant

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While some users may turn their Android phone into a productivity machine, a core part of the smartphone experience is communication. Irrespective of the use case scenario, it can be a hassle to find the right keyboard and then making the most out of it. A majority of Android smartphone makers, such as Samsung and Xiaomi, ship their phones with their own in-house keyboard that works well with their custom Android skin.

However, these can often miss out on certain features that a particular user wants. If an alternative keyboard that offers the feature can be found, the next step is to apply it as the default input option. This can be a bit tricky for some users who are not particularly well-versed with the settings. That’s because while installing a keyboard and using it for the first time is straightforward enough, if it’s not set as the default keyboard, the original system keyboard is likely to pop up again the next time the user types something.

Thankfully, it takes only a few steps to set a third-party keyboard as the default on an Android phone. Open the Settings app and tap on the System option (for phones running stock or near-stock UI based on Android 12 or 11, such as Google’s Pixel, Nokia, Motorola, and OnePlus phones). On the System page, select the Languages & Input option at the top, and then tap on On-Screen Keyboard on the next page. Now, users can choose the right keyboard from the list and set it as the default input option on their phone. On Samsung phones running One UI 3.0 or a later version, it can be done by heading to Settings, General Management, Keyboard list and default and then tapping on Default Keyboard. For phones from brands like Oppo and Realme, open the Settings menu, tap on Additional Settings and then on Keyboard & input method. Finally, tap on Manage keyboards.

Best Keyboards To Try On Your Android Phone

One of the most feature-heavy keyboards out there is Google’s own Gboard. It comes pre-installed on some phones, but Chinese smartphone makers usually add their own keyboard as a default. So, users might have to download it from the Play Store and set it as the default option by repeating the instructions above. Aside from a ton of customization options, one of the coolest Gboard tricks is an in-built Google translate strip that does the translation job really well and in a convenient fashion. One-handed mode is great, text selection is accurate (especially with space acting as the cursor button), glide typing works really, the ability to combine emojis to make new stickers is fun, and the voice typing experience is also one of the most accurate out there. All that, and a lot more, is completely free.

Among the first keyboards with a reliable swipe-based typing experience and good text prediction, Swiftkey remains a great option, even though it doesn’t offer as many features as Gboard. Built-in GIF search, cross-device syncing, and a clean design make it one of the best keyboards users can find for their Android phone. Another keyboard app that has recently climbed the popularity charts is Fleksy, which blends a ton of theme customization options with many useful features, such as glide typing, spell check, and adaptive sizing to name a few. It has its own emoji keyboard, access to GIFs and stickers from Giphy, and its very own mini-apps integrated into the keyboard Android app.

Next: The Best iPhone Keyboard Is Still Made By Google

Source: Google

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About The Author

Nadeem Sarwar (248 Articles Published)

Nadeem has been writing about consumer technology for over three years now, having worked with names such as NDTV and Pocketnow in the past. Aside from covering the latest news, he also has experience testing out the latest phones and laptops. When he's not writing, you can find him failing at Doom eternal.