Android experience

[Connert]

Having been on Samsung devices for so long and it being my only real day to day experience with Android, I've been learning a lot about what's really Android and what is TouchWiz. It's amazing to me how much Samsung has added to Android. Some of it convenient and positive and some not so much. I find myself trying something and it not working like I expected and then realizing it's because that particular feature was TW not Android. So far it's not really been an issue and I find an easy solution (play store) or workaround that does the same thing, just in a different way.

I went back to the beginning of this Z Force board and was reading through some of the topics from the start and have changes the way I do some things because of the information here. One was a thread about the Google keyboard and the lack of a number row. Someone on that thread mentioned that Google now pops up a number row when it thinks you might need it, which kinda interested me to see how well it works. I always turn the long key press time down to at least 200 ms and thought, what if I turned it down to maybe 150 ms to use the top row for numbers when you just need one number here or there. Ends up working out very well for me and I'm finding that I'm much better on the Google keyboard than with Swiftkey which I've been using for a few years now.

I'm truly enjoying this phone and how fast and smooth Android really can be. I never really understood just how much of an affect TW had on my devices. I'd always read comments from others talking about their dislike for TW but never really understood why, now I see.

Anyway, here's to trying something new and finding a better experience.

 

[B. Diddy]

One was a thread about the Google keyboard and the lack of a number row. Someone on that thread mentioned that Google now pops up a number row when it thinks you might need it, which kinda interested me to see how well it works. I always turn the long key press time down to at least 200 ms and thought, what if I turned it down to maybe 150 ms to use the top row for numbers when you just need one number here or there. Ends up working out very well for me and I'm finding that I'm much better on the Google keyboard than with Swiftkey which I've been using for a few years now.

Thanks for your thoughts! You can also use a the English US (PC) keyboard to have a persistent number row (although the keys get much smaller): How to add a dedicated number row to the Google Keyboard | Android Central

 

[Mike-Mike]

being a longtime Samsung user, the 2 things I miss the most when I switch to non-Sammy devices are the Keyboard and the Calendar.

considering this Moto Z Force, but not ready to pull the trigger yet

 

[Connert]

That's funny Mike, it's the first two things I replace. I've always switched to SwiftKey and Google Calendar.

I tried the Google keyboard just recently but had to go back to Swiftkey. I did learn a few things though and eliminated the number row. I made the long press time only 150 msec. Swiftkey also adds the number row when it thinks you will need it, depending on the field you are typing in.

 

[PowrDroid]

That's funny Mike, it's the first two things I replace. I've always switched to SwiftKey and Google Calendar.

I tried the Google keyboard just recently but had to go back to Swiftkey. I did learn a few things though and eliminated the number row. I made the long press time only 150 msec. Swiftkey also adds the number row when it thinks you will need it, depending on the field you are typing in.

I've been a SwiftKey user for a couple of years until last spring. It started going wonky on me with strange word predictions and other odd errors. I switched to Google Keyboard and I like it better. I might try your mod to the default long press timing.

 

[Soundtallica]

If you like the Google keyboard but miss the number row, try Chrooma keyboard. It's basically Google keyboard except with a few useful extras including the number row and the ability to change color depending on the app you're in, which is pretty cool IMO.