Keyboards & Input Methods
Most users probably live with the pre-installed keyboard app. Either because they are satisfied with it, that they are not aware of alternatives, or that the alternatives known to them are not really alternatives to them. Only few will know all available keyboard apps (even I don't). But even if the following list is far from being complete, they might prove helpful to the one or other.
Important to consider is that such a keyboard app is aware of all input done with it (well, that's its job, right?). Theoretically it could record all input (including passwords and other sensitive data). In case it also holds the permission to access the network, one could imagine some evil things. So better think twice if there are concerns to consider!
The permission to read/write user dictionaries is fully legit here, however – as that's what keyboards use for spell checking and „predictive typing“.
Keyboards supporting Swipe, Type, and Voice
- Gboard - the Google Keyboard (4.4@13,515,662) Ǥ 19
- Microsoft SwiftKey AI Keyboard (4.1@3,988,721) Ǥ 17
3
Datenschutz-Test 7/2019
- Bobble Keyboard: Fonts, Status (4.1@427,168) Ǥ 26
8
- Smart Keyboard Pro (3.3@22,197; ~EUR 2.25) 6
dictionaries available for many languages
Keyboards for Typing
- Tiny Keyboard (5@191) 0
Github
- Hacker’s Keyboard (4.3@60,359) 3
LastUpdate: 2018-12-07 Github; Video Review 6/2018; not only for hackers
- Technical Keyboard (4.3@2,762) 11
LastUpdate: 2017-09-24
- OpenBoard (4.3@2,539) 4
Github; Review 6/2021
- Typewise Offline Keyboard (4.3@1,894; ~EUR 25.00) 3
1
Vorstellung 6/2016
- Unexpected Keyboard (4.3@1,812) 2
Github
- BeHe Keyboard - Programming & (4.3@141) 1
LastUpdate: 2018-04-04
- Simple Keyboard (4.2@9,351) 1
Github; Vorstellung 8/2019
- Thumb Keyboard (4.2@8,168; ~EUR 2.25) 9 1
LastUpdate: 2014-11-15
- Deutsche Tastatur (4.1@3,098) 0
LastUpdate: 2021-12-03
- Keyboard Designer: Keyboard (4@916) Ǥ 2
Vorstellung 8/2020
- Compass Keyboard (4@56) 3
LastUpdate: 2018-03-16 Github; International keyboard
- A.I.type Tablet Keyboard Free (3.9@14,306) Ǥ 9
3
LastUpdate: 2019-10-07
- 1C Big Keyboard (3.8@22,878) Ǥ 10
14
- Minuum Keyboard + Smart Emoji (3.8@10,164; ~EUR 3.50) Ǥ 11
1
LastUpdate: 2017-02-18
- Simple Keyboard (3.8@1,217) 2
Github
- Fleksy fast emoji keyboard app (3.5@268,534) Ǥ 21
6
Wikipedia EN
- Big Buttons Keyboard Standard (3.4@9,390) 1
LastUpdate: 2013-12-18
- Indic Keyboard (3@7,938) 5
GitLab
- DroidTR IME (En/Ru/Tr/Gr Keybo (1@89) 2
GitLab
- Thumb-Key (0@0; ~EUR 18.00) 1
Github
- K9Keyboard (0@0) 1
Github; T9 keyboard
- T16Fling (0@0) 0
LastUpdate: 2021-04-20 GitLab
Keyboards for Typing & Swiping
- GO Keyboard Lite - Many Theme (4.3@2,634,653) Ǥ 19
13
LastUpdate: 2021-06-01
- Grammarly - Grammar Keyboard (4@202,779) Ǥ 15
6
- Ginger Keyboard - Emoji, GIFs (3.9@186,074) Ǥ 19
12
Video Demo 3/2015; spell and grammar check
- Typewise Custom Keyboard (3.9@13,062) Ǥ 8
1
Intro 2/2020
- MultiLing Keyboard (3.9@44) 5
LastUpdate: 2015-08-26 / Multiling O Keyboard + emoji (4@35,427) 4
LastUpdate: 2020-09-03
- AnySoftKeyboard (3.6@26,417) 6
LastUpdate: 2022-01-14 Github; Wiki; MobilSicher Empfehlung 10/2019; Vorstellung 6/2020
- Chrooma Keyboard - RGB & Emoji (2.8@181,872) Ǥ 22
9
LastUpdate: 2020-06-07 Kurzvorstellung 2/2016; Intro 6/2016
- FlorisBoard (0@0) 1
/ FlorisBoard Beta (0@0) 1
Github; Review 8/2021 / Github
Alternative Input Ideas
- mazec3 (jp) -Handwriting (5@566; ~EUR 9.00) Ǥ 6
/ mazec3 Handwriting Recognition (2.6@181; ~EUR 14.00) Ǥ 6
- Graffiti Pro for Android (4.1@1,021) 3
/ Graffiti for Android (3.9@3,262) 2
LastUpdate: 2013-03-13 Like in the good-old Palm days
- Selvy PenScript (4@187) 5
- EVA Facial Mouse (3.6@25,629) Ǥ 9
5
LastUpdate: 2019-11-21 Github; emulate mouse cursor by eye tracking
- Dotterel (0@0) 3
Github; stenographic input
- Fcitx5 for Android (0@0) 2
Github
More crazy ideas can be found in the category Personal Assistants (Competition to Siri & Google Now).
Remote Keyboards
… can be found in the category Control your Droid from your Computer
Other Keyboards
- Irregular Expressions Keyboard (4.8@107) 1
LastUpdate: 2021-08-05 Github; write expressive messages in various font styles
- MessagEase Keyboard (4.5@7,843) 4
- kboard (4.1@1,618) 4
LastUpdate: 2022-02-09 Github; XDA 2/2019; Intro 2/2019; a keyboard to end conversations
- 同文輸入法 (4@393) 10
Github; Chinese IME
- NovaKey - Keyboard (3.5@899) 6
LastUpdate: 2016-06-23
- YidKey KD (0@0) 0
LastUpdate: 2019-01-22 Github; Yiddish keyboard
- Secret Encrypted Keyboard (0@0) 1
Github; Keyboard for secure E2EE communication
- Czech Diacritic Keyboard (0@0) 15
LastUpdate: 2019-06-19 Github
- FutharkBoard (0@0) 0
Github
- 8vim Keyboard (0@0) 1
Github; vim-like keyboard and editor
- Otobi Keyboard (0@0) 4
LastUpdate: 2020-12-18 Github
- Unistroke Keyboard (0@0) 1
Github; like Palm's Grafitty
- Stroke Input Method (筆畫輸入法) (0@0) 0
Github; minimalist Chinese keyboard
- Sithakuru (0@0) 0
Codeberg; Libre Sinhala Keyboard
- BlitzTypeKeyboard (0@0) 0
LastUpdate: 2019-10-18 Github; custom keyboard with special keys for the WOT Blitz game
- Fcitx5 for Android (Clipboard Filter Plugin) (0@0) 0
Github
Keyboard Helpers
- Free Physical Keyboard (5@294) 0
LastUpdate: 2018-10-28
- Nabla : Type Math Symbols (5@19) 0
Github; easily type math symbols
- More Physical Keyboard Layouts (4.8@755) 0
Github
- Keyboard Switcher (4.5@1,060) 5
LastUpdate: 2021-02-03 GitLab
- 物理キーボード配列変更 (+親指Ctrl) [日本語配列] (4.5@27) 0
/ 物理キーボード配列変更 (+親指Ctrl) [英語配列] (4.7@26) 0
Github; Caps to Ctrl (keyboard layout) / Github
- Key Mapper GUI Keyboard (4.1@1,266) 4
Github
- External Keyboard Helper Pro (3.8@3,550; ~EUR 1.75) 7
configure your external keyboard
- Inputting Plus: Ctrl + Z/F/C/V (3.8@1,390) Ǥ 6
1
LastUpdate: 2019-01-22
- Hoplite Polytonic Greek Keyboa (3.8@273) 1
LastUpdate: 2020-09-24 Github; extension for polytonic Greek input
- Guileless Bopomofo Keyboard (3.8@19) 1
Github
- Full colemak (0@0) 0
LastUpdate: 2020-12-07 Github; keyboard layout with dead keys etc. for physical keyboards
- Neo2 External Keyboard (0@0) 0
LastUpdate: 2021-03-24 Github; Neo2-Layout when using a physical keyboard
- Traditional T9 (0@0) 1
Github; T9 IME for Android devices with hardware keypad
Further Readings:
- 5 best keyboard apps for Android (4/2022)
- 5 Best Private Android Keyboards You Can Trust + 3 Expert Tips (6/2020 - 3/2023)
- Android-Apps ersetzen: Tastatur (2/2020 - 12/2021)
- Video: Tastatur-Apps: Was sie über Sie erfahren und welche App wir empfehlen (10/2019)
- How to Connect a USB Keyboard to Your Android Phone (7/2019)
- Best keyboard apps for Android (4/2019 - 3/2023)
- Leserfrage: Empfehlenswerte Tastatur-App für Android (12/2017)
- Die besten Android-Tastaturen: Swype, SwiftKey und Co. im Überblick (12/2014 - 5/2021)
- Best keyboard for Android apps (9/2014 - 3/2023)