The Windows Phone keyboard is still unmatched

The Windows Phone keyboard was ahead of its time.

Ever since Apple brought us the multitouch keyboard on the original iPhone, which used a strong prediction engine combined with the light physical touch needed to activate the capacitive touchscreen (versus the pressure-based resistive touchscreens of the early 2000s), keyboards have been evolving to be more accurate and responsive to how people actually use their phones. But I've always been able to type significantly faster on a Windows Phone (while enjoying the Live Tiles) than I could on even a modern Android or iPhone, and I finally understand why.

Not many people realize this, but the "hit target" for each key on Windows Phone was dynamic and would constantly change based on the word the phone thought you were typing to make it faster to type, as yet another example of why Windows Phone was ahead of its time. Or, as they explain on the Windows Experience Blog: "The solution we use in Windows Phone is to change each key’s invisible 'hit target'—the touch-sensitive area around each letter—as you type.

When your finger touches a hit target, that letter is inserted. Hit targets are constantly changing size, depending on what word the keyboard thinks you’re trying to type." How do they know which key target to make bigger? As Microsoft describes it: "We use that same dictionary to help us decide which letters you’re likely to tap next. Going back to the happy birthday example, after typing “h-a-p-p-y-b,“ the hit target of the key “i” gets bigger and the hit targets of the surrounding keys—“j,” “k,” “o,” and “u”—get smaller because it’s likely you’re going to tap on “i” rather than any of those other letters." Not many people realize this, but the "hit target" for each key on Windows Phone was dynamic and would constantly change based on the word the phone thought you were typing to make it faster to type.

This dynamic hit target idea is brilliant and explains why Windows Phone keyboards almost had a sixth sense about what letter you would type next, such that typing accuracy became less important because the keyboard would assist you in hitting the correct next key. This element of not needing to be so accurate is so key, because when typing on the go, most people are not precise with input, and Windows Phone accounted for this with dynamic hit targets for each key.

Not only that, but the prediction engine in Windows Phone was smarter for the time. Using data from Microsoft Office usage as well as training data from Twitter and Wikipedia (this was many years before Large Language Models were a thing, which you can now run locally), the Windows Phone team built a predictive engine that was able to accurately predict what word might come after another word you're typing with accuracy in excess of 94% by looking at patterns of how people write and trying to predict what word someone would type next.

Getting a mechanical keyboard was the best productivity investment I've made recently, mostly because of the satisfying click it makes to put me into a rhythm when typing. The Windows Phone keyboard had the most fantastic click sound by default that made typing feel responsive, satisfying, and precise. The above video does a nice job of capturing this experience. Since Windows Phone devices generally had a wider aspect ratio than comparable iPhones and Android devices, the keyboard felt more spacious—and it was.

The keys were taller and wider (with the dynamic "hit targets" as mentioned, which would use the predictive text engine to anticipate the next letter you would type by increasing the tap target for that letter), plus the keys themselves were designed to be very contrasty depending on whether you had dark or light mode enabled. This less-cluttered aesthetic made the Windows Phone keyboard more inviting to use and easier to see in various conditions.

Keyboards really haven't evolved on Android and iOS, although we now have AI writing tools built into both Android and iOS keyboards that let you write more concisely or help you proofread. But it's been a while since Google or Apple has focused on input speed. Personally, I use swipe typing whether I'm using Android or an iPhone, which lets me type incredibly fast with just my thumb. And I'm sure future versions of Android and iOS will include enhanced prediction engines that stem from large language model training.

But Microsoft's dynamic touch target technology, the larger and clearer design of the keyboard itself, and the satisfying audio experience of typing on a Windows Phone are still unmatched.

Summary

This report covers the latest developments in iphone. The information presented highlights key changes and updates that are relevant to those following this topic.

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