For the most part, Apple’s iPhone sports one of the best software keyboard experiences on the market today, but that certainly doesn’t mean that there isn’t room for improvement.
Those looking to augment their jailbroken iPhone’s typing experience are likely to enjoy a new jailbreak tweak release called Keyboard Plus by iOS developer Ryan Nair. As the tweak’s name implies, Keyboard Plus brings new features and improvements to the native keyboard experience, with the goal of making typing on your iPhone an even nicer experience than it is already.
Keyboard Plus doesn’t replace the iPhone’s native keyboard with something different, but rather augments the existing keyboard with features it doesn’t already have. Out of the box, Keyboard Plus supports the following features:
- Enable iPad-style flick typing on the iPhone
- Disable iPhone X-style gestures when the keyboard is shown
- Long-press on keys for trackpad usage on devices without 3D Touch
- Haptic feedback when keys are tapped
- Custom keyboard spacing
- Per-application keyboard settings
Our favorite feature is the addition of the iPad’s flick typing, which makes it easier to enter symbols without having to use special keys to enter symbol mode. We also like the haptic feedback option and the ability to have custom settings per app, as you may have certain preferences for something like Microsoft Word that you wouldn’t normally use elsewhere, such as in the Messages app.
Once installed, users will find a dedicated preference pane in the Settings app where Keyboard Plus can be configured:
Here, you can:
- Toggle Keyboard Plus on or off on demand
- Disable iPhone X-style gestures when the keyboard is showing
- Enable long-pressing on any key for trackpad mode
- Enable the iPad-style key flick gestures
- Enable and configure haptic feedback strength
- Configure bottom keyboard spacing amount
- Choose per-app settings
- And more…
The developer provides a Respring button at the top-right of the preference pane that can be used to save all changes on demand.
Those interested in giving Keyboard Plus a try can purchase it for $1.50 from the Packix repository via their preferred package manager. The tweak supports jailbroken iOS 13 devices.
Are any of the features included with Keyboard Plus appetizing enough to make you want to try it? Discuss in the comments section below.