Best keyboard choices

[eric002]

So, I've been dabbling with both keyboards gboard, and SwiftKey just now. Attach to screenshots of the RAM memory usage for each respective keyboard application. What are everyone's thoughts here regarding the two keyboards and battery and RAM memory usage? Is there an advantage? Any disadvantages? Thank you very much for your help.

 

[gendo667]

I can't speak to Swiftkey, but Gboard is fantastic on the S8. No hiccups whatsoever. Great experience.

 

[Qc_Anubis]

I don't really care about ram/battery usage as my s8 lasts a whole day that's the only important thing to me so i use swiftkey because the predictions are very good (and i bought the thing years ago) idk about gboard but i've heard lots of positive on that one too.

Overall don't check system usage it dosen't matter (unless you have an ocd then idk what to tell ya other than use default keyboard...) The phone itself manages quite well with anything.

 

[eric002]

I can't speak to Swiftkey, but Gboard is fantastic on the S8. No hiccups whatsoever. Great experience.

Thank you very much.

I don't really care about ram/battery usage as my s8 lasts a whole day that's the only important thing to me so i use swiftkey because the predictions are very good (and i bought the thing years ago) idk about gboard but i've heard lots of positive on that one too.

Overall don't check system usage it dosen't matter (unless you have an ocd then idk what to tell ya other than use default keyboard...) The phone itself manages quite well with anything.

One of the things that I really love about SwiftKey is that you can split the keyboard light out out for faster more accurate typing. That and the sound profiles and the vibrate profiles for key presses are awesome. Yes, I swear the predictions even with SwiftKey vs gboard are a little bit better. I do love both but I'm going to try SwiftKey again and see how It. Obviously I'm a bit anal about resources on my phone. But yes Android nougat and Samsung to a great job with memory.

 

[GRUNT11B]

I don't really care about ram/battery usage as my s8 lasts a whole day that's the only important thing to me so i use swiftkey because the predictions are very good (and i bought the thing years ago) idk about gboard but i've heard lots of positive on that one too.

Overall don't check system usage it dosen't matter (unless you have an ocd then idk what to tell ya other than use default keyboard...) The phone itself manages quite well with anything.

Exactly. I don't even think about looking at ram or battery stats. It's a none issue and I'm a power user. G board has been solid for me.

 

[eric002]

I'm a power user as well. I was using g board for a few days. I just downloaded SwiftKey. Like I said, the split keyboard for left side and right side layout is really nice for typing quickly, and accurately. I'll have to give it a shot for a few days and see how I like it. You're right though, both keyboards are awesome though!

 

[Lepa79]

I have used SwiftKey for years and bought it back in the good old days. I also used gboard for few months and loved it for its gif support until I noticed that sync doesn't work when you have Secure Folder enabled. So, back I went to SwiftKey last week. Both are good, resource consumption means nothing on powerfully devices like S8 Plus.

I find a lot of people choose one over the other just because of "memory" muscle. It's hard to switch when you get used to one keyboard. I, on the other hand, have no issues switching between both and in fact have both installed.

 

[eric002]

I have used SwiftKey for years and bought it back in the good old days. I also used gboard for few months and loved it for its gif support until I noticed that sync doesn't work when you have Secure Folder enabled. So, back I went to SwiftKey last week. Both are good, resource consumption means nothing on powerfully devices like S8 Plus.

I find a lot of people choose one over the other just because of "memory" muscle. It's hard to switch when you get used to one keyboard. I, on the other hand, have no issues switching between both and in fact have both installed.

You know, I'm really glad you said it like that. As for muscle memory and speed accurately typing, the split keyboard layout from SwiftKey I'm finding I can type a bit faster than gboard and Samsung stock keyboard. As far as resources on the phone, like I said I know I'm very anal regarding things and I'm very tacky as well, and yet at Via states are Flagship phones so with the Snapdragon 835 chip, 4 gigs of RAM and all the other Hardware under the hood so to speak I really shouldn't be worried about it. I'll have to give SwiftKey keyboard to try for a couple days and see how the battery consumption is.

 

[cwbcpa]

I've always used Swiftkey, but this time I went with Gboard. It's been great and I have not had a desire to try anything else so far.

 

[eric002]

I've always used Swiftkey, but this time I went with Gboard. It's been great and I have not had a desire to try anything else so far.

Well, that's great to hear. Have you ever had any issues at all with SwiftKey though? Like I said, for the next couple of days I'm going to be trying that vs gboard. Thanks for the help.

 

[cwbcpa]

Well, that's great to hear. Have you ever had any issues at all with SwiftKey though? Like I said, for the next couple of days I'm going to be trying that vs gboard. Thanks for the help.

No issues. Swiftkey has been my go to keyboard on android for years.

 

[eric002]

No issues. Swiftkey has been my go to keyboard on android for years.

Yeah I understand and I agree with what you said. I haven't used it for a while because of my either being too anal or my paranoia over those issues. So, I've just gone to gboard. But I'm like I said I'm going to give it a few days and really try that again. Thank you so much.

 

[ABOSWORTH007]

I have been using Swiftkey for years. I've tried a few others but always end up going back to Swiftkey. I like Gboard but there are a few things that are deal breakers for me.

1. Gboard does not automatically put a space after punctuation like Swiftkey does. It's just annoying. You can double space to insert a period but when I put a comma, exclamation point, question mark, etc., it does not put a space after. Swiftkey does and is also smart enough to omit the space if you put consecutive periods, exclamation points ect..

2. The real deal breaker for me is that Gboard doesn't have a thumb layout. With Swiftkey, I have a normal layout when I'm in portrait view and when I'm in landscape, I have the thumb layout. The thumb layout basically splits the keyboard so that it's easier to reach all keys on these larger phones. I choose to put arrow keys so it will split the keyboard in half and the arrow keys will be in the middle. I can post pics if anyone doesn't understand what I mean.

I will say that Gboard is less glitchy and seems smoother in operation. I also like that you can do a google search right from the keyboard without having to open a browser. It's also completely awesome that you can choose any image you like as the keybaord background. That is a killer feature! GIF support is cool but most native messaging apps don't support GIFs yet and I haven't found a third party messaging app that I'm crazy about yet (everyone suggests Textra but I find it to be ugly and boring looking).

I get kind of set in my ways so that's why I stick with Swiftkey. Honestly though, Gboard almost has me. It's just the 2 things I mentioned that don't quite cut it for me.

 

[eric002]

I have been using Swiftkey for years. I've tried a few others but always end up going back to Swiftkey. I like Gboard but there are a few things that are deal breakers for me.

1. Gboard does not automatically put a space after punctuation like Swiftkey does. It's just annoying. You can double space to insert a period but when I put a comma, exclamation point, question mark, etc., it does not put a space after. Swiftkey does and is also smart enough to omit the space if you put consecutive periods, exclamation points ect..

2. The real deal breaker for me is that Gboard doesn't have a thumb layout. With Swiftkey, I have a normal layout when I'm in portrait view and when I'm in landscape, I have the thumb layout. The thumb layout basically splits the keyboard so that it's easier to reach all keys on these larger phones. I choose to put arrow keys so it will split the keyboard in half and the arrow keys will be in the middle. I can post pics if anyone doesn't understand what I mean.

I will say that Gboard is less glitchy and seems smoother in operation. I also like that you can do a google search right from the keyboard without having to open a browser. It's also completely awesome that you can choose any image you like as the keybaord background. That is a killer feature! GIF support is cool but most native messaging apps don't support GIFs yet and I haven't found a third party messaging app that I'm crazy about yet (everyone suggests Textra but I find it to be ugly and boring looking).

I get kind of set in my ways so that's why I stick with Swiftkey. Honestly though, Gboard almost has me. It's just the 2 things I mentioned that don't quite cut it for me.

Thank you very much for your suggestion. Yes, thats exaclty how i feel regarding DBoard and Swiftkey. That's why I felt aws thbough Swiftkey used more RAM and battery becausze in the past its been a littl glitchy but i can deal with it every now and then.

The two-thumb layout of Swiftkey for me is perfect for typing fast and accurately as well. I also like the way I can customize the vibrate strength and the clicking noise as well.

As far as the theming is concerned, you're absolutely right. I'm not sure why in today's day and age, Swiftkey still doesn't allow users to set a custom pictures as a background theme. I have a a theme set, but you're right in saying that's a big advantage with GBoard. For me the ability to do a Google search directly from the keyboard isn't too big of a deal but I know what you mean. I know understand why I can't use GIF's though. I didn't realize that most native messaging apps won't let you unless its Android Messaging.

Again, I am going to continue using Swiftkey keyboard for a couple of days, and really see how i like it that's for sure.

I really tried to like Samsung's keyboard, and for a while ever since I bought my S8, It worked fine for me. The only real reason I switched was because a lot of other people on these forums were saying that the prediction and the keyboard overall just horible. So, that's when i basically decided to try out another keyboard.

As for a messaging app, I used to use Textra a little bit on my old Nexus 6P, but I just wound up going to Android Messaging. I love the Samsung messaging app. First of all it's native for theming, and 2it's still go an option which i love; I can schedule when i want certain messages to be sent out. I am very forgetful, so it helps me in remembering things. Yes, Textra does the same thing, but why use Textra, when the stock Samsung messaging app does it already?

 

[ABOSWORTH007]

Thank you very much for your suggestion. Yes, thats exaclty how i feel regarding DBoard and Swiftkey. That's why I felt aws thbough Swiftkey used more RAM and battery becausze in the past its been a littl glitchy but i can deal with it every now and then.

The two-thumb layout of Swiftkey for me is perfect for typing fast and accurately as well. I also like the way I can customize the vibrate strength and the clicking noise as well.

As far as the theming is concerned, you're absolutely right. I'm not sure why in today's day and age, Swiftkey still doesn't allow users to set a custom pictures as a background theme. I have a a theme set, but you're right in saying that's a big advantage with GBoard. For me the ability to do a Google search directly from the keyboard isn't too big of a deal but I know what you mean. I know understand why I can't use GIF's though. I didn't realize that most native messaging apps won't let you unless its Android Messaging.

Again, I am going to continue using Swiftkey keyboard for a couple of days, and really see how i like it that's for sure.

I really tried to like Samsung's keyboard, and for a while ever since I bought my S8, It worked fine for me. The only real reason I switched was because a lot of other people on these forums were saying that the prediction and the keyboard overall just horible. So, that's when i basically decided to try out another keyboard.

As for a messaging app, I used to use Textra a little bit on my old Nexus 6P, but I just wound up going to Android Messaging. I love the Samsung messaging app. First of all it's native for theming, and 2it's still go an option which i love; I can schedule when i want certain messages to be sent out. I am very forgetful, so it helps me in remembering things. Yes, Textra does the same thing, but why use Textra, when the stock Samsung messaging app does it already?

The prediction and correction of Swiftkey is awesome. It also seems to learn how you type and how to correct you the more you use it. Pretty amazing piece of software, really. I assume GBoard does the same thing. Honestly, you can't go wrong with either of these keyboards.

I have been having a glitch with Swiftkey for a while. Like I said, I have my layout in thumb only when I'm in landscape and portrait is in regular layout. For the past several months, it occasionally defaults to normal view when I'm in landscape. I can quickly change back so it's not the end of the world but it is definitely a glitch that needs to be addressed. I never had this problem on my S4, S5, M9, S6 and S7 Edge. I only started noticing it with my V20 so I think it might not be playing well with Nougat in this regard. When I go to change the layout, thumb is already selected but I have to re-select it and then it stays that way for a couple days or so before it does this. Strange. I might try switching to Swiftkey Beta.

Hopefully if we are lucky, Swiftkey will implement custom backgrounds and eventually GIF support. I'm sure in the near future, native messaging apps will start to support GIFs as well.

 

[eric002]

The prediction and correction of Swiftkey is awesome. It also seems to learn how you type and how to correct you the more you use it. Pretty amazing piece of software, really. I assume GBoard does the same thing. Honestly, you can't go wrong with either of these keyboards.

I have been having a glitch with Swiftkey for a while. Like I said, I have my layout in thumb only when I'm in landscape and portrait is in regular layout. For the past several months, it occasionally defaults to normal view when I'm in landscape. I can quickly change back so it's not the end of the world but it is definitely a glitch that needs to be addressed. I never had this problem on my S4, S5, M9, S6 and S7 Edge. I only started noticing it with my V20 so I think it might not be playing well with Nougat in this regard. When I go to change the layout, thumb is already selected but I have to re-select it and then it stays that way for a couple days or so before it does this. Strange. I might try switching to Swiftkey Beta.

Hopefully if we are lucky, Swiftkey will implement custom backgrounds and eventually GIF support. I'm sure in the near future, native messaging apps will start to support GIFs as well.

Yes indeed. So far honestly, no issues yet with Swiftkey other thatn my bein ganal and paranoid. haha. As far as the predictions, yes they are absolutely phenomenal. I can deal with the theme as long as i find one similar enough to my phone's' theme which I did. I also agree with you that the 2-thumb layout is awesome with Swiftkey; makes it soo much easier to eyp faster and more accurately. Thank you again for everyones suggestions, and input. I really appreciate it.

 

[paridge]

The prediction and correction of Swiftkey is awesome. It also seems to learn how you type and how to correct you the more you use it. Pretty amazing piece of software, really. I assume GBoard does the same thing. Honestly, you can't go wrong with either of these keyboards.

I have been having a glitch with Swiftkey for a while. Like I said, I have my layout in thumb only when I'm in landscape and portrait is in regular layout. For the past several months, it occasionally defaults to normal view when I'm in landscape. I can quickly change back so it's not the end of the world but it is definitely a glitch that needs to be addressed. I never had this problem on my S4, S5, M9, S6 and S7 Edge. I only started noticing it with my V20 so I think it might not be playing well with Nougat in this regard. When I go to change the layout, thumb is already selected but I have to re-select it and then it stays that way for a couple days or so before it does this. Strange. I might try switching to Swiftkey Beta.

Hopefully if we are lucky, Swiftkey will implement custom backgrounds and eventually GIF support. I'm sure in the near future, native messaging apps will start to support GIFs as well.

Have you tried SwiftKey beta? There are almost daily updates.

 

[eric002]

Maybe I'll have to try beta, as long as I continue using SwiftKey overall.

 

[ABOSWORTH007]

Have you tried SwiftKey beta? There are almost daily updates.

I just downloaded it and the sizing is still messed up for the S8+. The most current version of the regular app addressed this issue. The largest size on Beta isn't really that large. I'm kind of surprised at this. You'd think the Beta version would have everything that the regular release does and more. I'll keep testing to see if it has the other issue I reported.

 

[paridge]

I just downloaded it and the sizing is still messed up for the S8+. The most current version of the regular app addressed this issue. The largest size on Beta isn't really that large. I'm kind of surprised at this. You'd think the Beta version would have everything that the regular release does and more. I'll keep testing to see if it has the other issue I reported.

They've changed the sizes within the last day or two. Who knows? Given the frequent updates, they may very well change it again within the next few days.