Blink Keyboard should make typing on your gigantic iPhone 6 easier

Blink Keyboard 1

I am one of a handful of people that did not upgrade to the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus specifically because of the size. My hands are small and I’ve gotten used to the width of the iPhone 5. I can type and play games with one hand without feeling like I’m having to stretch too far.

Blink Keyboard is a third-party keyboard app that helps iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users that are used to one-handed typing but are having trouble with the larger screen size. The app shifts the keyboard to the left or right so you can reach all the letters.

Using a handful of gesture-based moves, users can switch between keypads, change the color theme, and shift the keyboard slightly to the left or right. You can also split the keyboard in half by pinching outward and access alternative characters by long-pressing on a key.

Blink Keyboard 3

To resize the keyboard, swipe from left or right on the second row. The keys will shrink down just a bit and shift to the left or right about a half inch. This makes it easier for you to reach the keys on the opposite side if you typically type one-handed.

You can also split the keyboard in half so that four or five keys in each row shift to the left and the rest shift to the right. This feature is useful for people that type with two hands and want the convenience of reachability on both sides.

To switch between different keypads, swipe across the first row. You can switch between letters, numbers, and punctuation.

If you only need one number and don’t want to switch the keypad, touch and hold the key to call up alternate characters. For example, the number five is connected to the letter “T.”

The long-press action will also bring up the emoticons. The alternate characters in the first row house the entire selection of emoji symbols.

Blink Keyboard 2

The app does include a decent predictive word suggestion, but does not include auto-correct. I know that auto-correct can be a real pain at times, but it should at least be an option to turn on or off. It also does not give you the option of turning off the keyboard click, which I personally find to be incredibly annoying. I’d like to have the option.

I also noticed that the app is still a bit buggy. The second-row shift feature does not work all of the time. When in split keyboard mode, the keys will sometimes revert back to a normal layout for no reason.

For users struggling with one-handed typing on the larger iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus screen, this may be the keyboard that saves you. Keep in mind that it has a few bugs to work out, but the developer seems to be willing to make updates along the way.

Blink Keyboard is available on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch for free. You can download it in the App Store today.

Check out these other iOS 8 keyboard apps