Skip to main content

Missing one-handed typing on your iPhone 6/Plus? One Handed Keyboard brings it back

If you love your new iPhone 6/Plus but find yourself missing the convenience of one-handed typing, One Handed Keyboard may be the third-party keyboard for you. It’s a system-wide keyboard exactly the same size as the one on the older and smaller iPhones so everything will feel familiar. The “sliding over” keyboard method is what Samsung and LG have been using on their Phablets for years.

The keyboard can be switched between left- and right-handed use, and when you want to return to two-handed typing, just hold down the spacebar to expand it to full width … 

The keyboard automatically switches between dark and light themes, depending on the app in which it is used, or you can manually choose your keyboard color.

One Handed Keyboard costs $1.99 on the App Store. The one drawback is that you lose the excellent iOS 8 predictive text and get a more basic auto-correct instead. But if thumb-typing is your thing, that may be a price worth paying.

If you want to explore what else is available in the way of third-party iOS 8 keyboards, check out last month’s roundup and follow-up.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Comments

  1. andreww500 - 10 years ago

    I’ve so far found all of these custom keyboards to be completely useless. SwiftKey is the only one that I can put up with, but even then I’m still faster with the standard iOS keyboard.

    • Ashish Asawa - 10 years ago

      Same here, typing on iOS was never an issue for me. Initially i did miss swipe, but when I get used to iOS keyboard I have no issue.

    • Ben Lovejoy - 10 years ago

      I’ve tried a couple, but have to say the stock predictive text is so good that’s faster than anything else for me.

      • aeronperyton - 10 years ago

        I think Apple is trolling all the people that were screaming for third-party keyboards by releasing an API and then making the stock keyboard roast everything else in performance.

      • Hi Ben, give it a try Blink Keyboard, provide one-hand (width adjustable next update), predictive (auto-correct, Spanish and German target 1 Nov update), swipe to resize, swipe to change theme, swipe to change between numbers, letters, punctuations keyboard. Tap down space to insert Quick Text you defined in the app. etc etc! bit.ly/blink_app

    • dksmidtx - 10 years ago

      Agreed. If Apple would just add a fourth row to include numbers it would be perfect and eliminate everything but swipe fans.

    • TheCheef (@Cheef) - 10 years ago

      TouchPal is pretty good..once it learns your words though. It’s a keyboard you can swipe and has emoji’s too, so it’s the only one I use. No need for multiple keyboards.

    • Longfei Xing (@longfeix) - 9 years ago

      Maybe give this keyboard a try. It’s called boomerang keyboard. It is designed exclusively for one handed usage. It’s very comfortable for typing one-handed. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/boomerang-keyboard/id982869043?mt=8

  2. OneOkami (@OneOkami) - 10 years ago

    Perhaps I have big hands but I can type one-handed quite easily on my 6. Swiping with SwiftKey makes it even easier for me.

    If I was using a 6 Plus, the loss of a predictive text would be a deal breaker for me with this keyboard. I would value that more than being able to type with one hand.

    • ibejohnson - 10 years ago

      That’s interesting, because I find that I rarely, if ever, use predictive text. It feels like it slows me down.

      • Nathan Pritchard - 10 years ago

        Same here. On occasion, I can type several words in a row with minimal effort, but the attention required to watch the predictive suggestions pop up slows me down overall. And it is not uncommon for me to see a word pop up that i want, but by the time i tap on it, it has changed to something else. Then I have to delete the whole word and start over!

  3. yission - 10 years ago

    iPhone 6/Plus users! One-handed typing keyboard is right here for you.

  4. aeronperyton - 10 years ago

    I can juuust one-hand the iPhone 6. Apple’s leather case improves the grip to the point where I can reach over with my thumb without threatening to drop the phone. And the thickness of the case simultaneously doesn’t alter the size of the phone and yet allows the back to site flush on a surface despite the camera bump. So I’m not worried about the inevitable upgrade. But between the size change and the realization that the “6S” is already looking to be one hell of an upgrade over the 6, I think I’ll sit this release cycle out. iOS 8 greatly improved my 5S. I can resist the storage increase and super-awesome camera for one more year.

  5. crateish (@crateish) - 10 years ago

    Meh. I have average sized hands and Apple’s keyboard is perfectly usable, even on my Plus, even one-handed.

  6. Vasyl Vasyltsiv - 10 years ago

    ugly keyboard

  7. Pallav Jha (@jhapallav) - 10 years ago

    I am an Apple fan, but its very hard to say that, One Hand Keyboard feature is present in Android since last 3 years. Apple could have provided this feature earlier iOS in landscape mode.

  8. al0963 - 10 years ago

    Don’t text and drive but if you do I suggest to use Swype, if you know where exactly the letters are you can drive without looking down on the keyboard, and don’t say that you never text and drive because you have done it once in your life

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


Ben Lovejoy's favorite gear

Manage push notifications

notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications
notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications