One of the best aspects of Android is the ability to customize it to suit your needs and preferences. With different keyboards, homescreens, icon packs, wallpapers, lock screens, and much more, there’s no limit to what you can do to make your device stand out from the crowd. Now, Google is launching a new tool on the web that can help make customizing your device a little easier.
Getting used to a new keyboard can be tough for many and it’s one of the primary reasons I’ve always stuck with the Google Keyboard on my devices. However that all changed when Chrooma Keyboard was originally released last year. I instantly switched and now several months later, that keyboard has hit version 3.0. In this version Chrooma not only adopts several features from Google Keyboard 5.0, but also adds several awesome new features of its own. Let’s take a quick look.
Pinterest has today announced that they have acquired the team behind the popular keyboard app Fleksy. Pinterest is solely acqui-hiring the developers behind this application, not the technology or app itself. The app will remain live on both Android and iOS ‘for the foreseeable future’ and app updates will be very minimal.
There are nearly 1.5 million applications currently on Google Play and with so many to choose from, finding interesting new experiences can be a hassle. That’s why today we’re kicking off a new series here at 9to5Google highlighting 5 different Android apps each month that are worth checking out.
So without further ado, let’s take a look at our picks for the month.
According to a report from The Verge, Google is building its own third-party keyboard for iOS and has been doing so for “months.” While it’s unclear when or if the keyboard will be released, the report notes of several features Google has been working to implement as employees test it.
Update: Yes, it’s real.
Evan Blass of evleaks has a pretty solid track record, and we’ve cited his leaks hundreds of times. This time, though, we can’t tell if what he has leaked is a joke or if it’s actually a real product on the way from Samsung. As you can see above, it looks like the Korean company might maybe possibly eventually release a keyboard cover for the yet-to-be-announced Galaxy S6 Edge+.
Knowing Samsung, this could very well be the real deal. And Evan hasn’t exactly been known to be a jokester when it comes to his leaks. He’s ended up wrong a couple of times, but I can’t remember many times that he has just posted a “leak” that was purely a practical joke. With that in mind, I have to say that this cover looks absolutely horrid — and useless.
S6e+ keyboard cover — clever. pic.twitter.com/4eAJKPq9ph
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) August 7, 2015
A physical keyboard is something that many have desired since the move away from BlackBerry-esque devices, but I don’t know if this is the solution. I would much prefer that some companies — like BlackBerry, maybe? — make a smartphone that actually has a physical keyboard built-in. This hunk of plastic covering up half of your screen is surely be a nuisance and nothing more.
After around seven million downloads of its popular third-party keyboard app, Fleksy is today announcing that its mobile apps will be completely free for all going forward.
The company was originally charging $4 for the app but had dropped the price to $1 and even made the app free temporarily a couple times in the past. Starting today, however, Fleksy says its apps for both iOS and Android will be free forever.
For everyone that has paid for the app and feels left out, Fleksy is offering a free gift that it says is worth $8 to make up for it. The in-app download includes a selection of new themes and extensions, which also arrive with today’s update. While the app is going free for all to download and use, the company will continue offering premium themes and extensions as paid in-app purchases.
In addition to going free, the company highlighted some other new features and improvements arriving today:
Going free is not the only big update today. We also launched an improved rich content view called Highlights. Meaning, Fleksy will better assist with GIF, sticker and other content discovery based on what you type. Instead of manually searching for stickers and GIFs on separate pages, now you’ll only need to tap on the auto-recommended hashtag (Highlight) and Fleksy will take you to an integrated page of relevant content all in one convenient place.
The Fleksy Keyboard app for Android is available now. A full list of what’s included in the update below:
Update: As I thought, this isn’t the slider. It’s just a Passport.
There seems to be some confusion — sorry for being obtuse. This is no slider, it's just a Passport: https://t.co/0AExZulvMy
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) July 3, 2015
Evan Blass just can’t stop. Earlier today he came out on Twitter to say that BlackBerry’s Android-powered “Venice” smartphone is on its way to AT&T, and now he has shared an image of what looks to be some kind of BlackBerry device running Google’s mobile operating system.
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Google today released a new version of the official Google Keyboard to the Play Store, most notably bringing along with it dictionary syncing to Google accounts (Apps for Business accounts excluded, it seems) and the ability to access emoji from physical Bluetooth keyboards.
SwiftKey today announced and released its first app part of a new initiative called the SwiftKey Greenhouse. The company wants to do some experimenting with new software, and they want to make a place “where [they] can seed ideas and help them grow.” The new initiative is off to a good start, as I’ve found out, because its first project—called Clarity—is a great, unique new attempt at a mobile keyboard…
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If you use both Android and Windows devices (and maybe iOS too), the latest version of Microsoft’s universal keyboard may appeal. Designed to allow you to switch easily between Android, Windows and iOS devices, the Microsoft Universal Foldable Keyboard is a more portable version, folding in half down the middle. (If you like a smaller vertical fold made for smartphones, Zagg makes an excellent product)
There’s no word yet on pricing or availability, but the original version retailed at $80 (and is available on Amazon for $65), so something in the same ballpark or a little higher seems likely.
Photos: CNET
If you’ve ever tried any third party keyboards on your Android device, there’s a decent chance that Minuum was one of them. Today, version 3.0 of the space-saving keyboard has begun rolling out, packing a slew of new features including Material Design and experimental support for simultaneous use of multiple languages.
The popular third-party keyboard SwiftKey for Android has been updated today with minor performance enhancements and five new festive themes in time for the holiday season. The update arrives less than a month after the last major version of SwiftKey was seeded with faster performance and several new languages. The update should be rolling out on the Play Store now.
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Just weeks after receiving a Material Design makeover for Android Lollipop, the popular custom keyboard SwiftKey for Android has been updated with performance improvements and support for twelve new languages. The latest version of SwiftKey for Android is available now through the Play Store as a free update.
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Fleksy keyboard for Android has received an update with a couple of new features and gone on sale for 99 cents through Friday after announcing it has secured $2 million in venture funding from Digital Garage, Eniac Ventures, Middleland Capital, Highland Capital Partners, Militello Capital and other investment partners.
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Users of the popular third-party keyboard SwiftKey will be glad to hear that two new Material Design themes are now available for the keyboard ahead of the upcoming release of Android Lollipop. The two new themes, based on Google’s new Material Design guidelines, are named Material Dark and Material Light and available through the SwiftKey Store today.
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[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MceLc7-w1lQ]
Logitech today announced a new Bluetooth Multi-Device Keyboard (K480) that doesn’t just make switching between devices easy, it also doubles as a stand for your smartphone or tablet. While Logitech has made similar keyboards previously that let you switch between connected devices, the new keyboard adds a “Easy-Switch dial” that makes it super easy to switch between three devices on the fly:
Now you can type a report on your computer and, with the flick of the Easy-Switch™ dial, respond to a message on your smartphone and type a tweet on your tablet. The universal keyboard can connect to three different Bluetooth wireless devices at once, whether you are using a Windows®, Mac® or Chrome OS™ computer, or an Android™ or iOS tablet or smartphone.
The keyboard is available now in the US and Europe for $50 in two color schemes (white & black). You can images of the two colors below and see more specs and order the keyboard now on Logitech’s site.
Minuum just keeps on getting better with each update, and this one—as described on the company’s blog—gives you the flexibility to move the keyboard around the screen as you please by way of a couple new keyboard modes. The first of them is called floating mode, which lets you move the keyboard around at will as you can see in the above image. Secondly, compact mode is functionally similar to floating mode, and lets you dock the keyboard to different locations on the screen. Also included in this update is the ability for users to change how periods work when double tapping the space bar. Finally, some buttons—including layer and mode—have been removed from the shift menu to reduce clutter.
You can grab the updated Minuum from the Play Store.
Shortly after its unveiling, an actual copy of the Android L keyboard pulled straight from the Developer Preview OS appeared on the Play Store thanks to a developer by the name of Shen Ye. And while it was pulled after two short weeks because it violated Google’s policies, Ye has now taken the keyboard to the Amazon Appstore to hopefully avoid any future conflict.
The Minuum keyboard has already been announced to be in development for the Moto 360, but today the company demoed its keyboard actually running on another Android Wear device — the LG G Watch. Last time we only got a concept, but now we have a real-time video demo of a slick — albeit (intentionally?) cramped — keyboard running on Android Wear. And Minuum says they’re ready to send out its earliest release.
The popular replacement Android keyboard Fleksy received an update to its publicly available beta version today that enabled support for 15 new languages. According to a press release announcing the update, the new languages and variants on existing languages include English (UK), Latin American Spanish, Hebrew, Romanian, French, Canadian, and more.
The beta now supports 37 languages total, and the company says it expects the update to exit beta this fall with support for over 40. An update was also released today for the Fleksy Messenger app for Gear smarwatches. The update introduces a few bug fixes and other enhancements, but also adds support for first-gen devices running Samsung’s Tizen operating system.
You can grab the Fleksy Android update from the beta website and the Gear update from the watch’s app store.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjcHzO3-QEg]
Minuum, one of the more distinctive third-party keyboards available for Android devices, is coming to Google Glass. The keyboard was shown off this morning in a video of the prototype app running on Glass. The second half of the video, however, is far more exciting.
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Fleksy is out today with version 2.0 of its Android keyboard bringing a new list of features with it.
My Fleksy Cloud enables Android users to sync personalization features between devices including its new language algorithm based on your writing style.
Fleksy 2.0 also introduces a new badge system for reaching achievements. The badge system offers an element of gamification to mastering the Fleksy keyboard, and achievements can unlock new themes and extend the free trial period.
Following a minor update to the Search app on Android, Google has just released a significant update to its Keyboard app. The update bumps the app all the way to version 3.0.19373 from version 2.0. The update introduces a few minor interface tweaks. For one, there is now an “ABC” button to easily switch between the emoji keyboard and letter keyboard. There’s also a new settings icon when you long press the microphone button.
The biggest addition, however, is new Personalized Suggestions. This is a new feature that tracks what you type in Google’s suite of apps, such as Gmail, Hangouts, and Search. Google will then use this data to offer improved suggestions and auto-correct within its apps. For obvious security reasons, Google has offered the ability to turn this feature off, by heading into the keyboard’s settings menu and unchecking the box next to “Personalized Suggestions.”
As with most updates nowadays, the Keyboard update is a staged rollout, so it may take a few days to hit your device. Keep your eyes on the Play Store.
