The proliferation of incredibly varied, feature-rich software keyboards has proven that Apple did the right move opening up iOS 8 to third-party developers more than ever before. That being said, the initial crop of keyboards available in the App Store leaves a lot to be desired, in my personal opinion.
None of the keyboards I've tried and tested thus far — and I downloaded virtually every single one out there — come close to touching Apple's stock keyboard in terms of efficiency and usability. It's more often than not that cramming all the features one could think of into a keyboard does the opposite of elevating the experience.
Sure, Swype makes you a faster typist but I just can't get over its sluggishness and the globe icon that's inconceivably nested under a menu. Another example: Tintype may take typing and swiping to the next level but it takes a lot of time getting used to and its appearance can be a little overwhelming for most people.
I could go on and on highlighting weaknesses and bad design choices in other keyboards that are mostly Android replicas anyway, but I won't as I'm sure our readers have their own gripes with them. On a brighter note, looks like search for the perfect iPhone keyboard could be over soon.
Enter Next Keyboard.
