How to Type Faster on a Phone

Many people now type more words on a phone than on a computer. Phone typing is slower than a full keyboard for most of us, but the gap is smaller than you might expect, and a few changes of habit close a good part of it. None of them needs a new app. They are mostly about using what the phone's keyboard already does.

Use two thumbs

This is the largest single improvement. Typing with one index finger, or with one thumb while the other hand holds the phone, means one finger has to cross the whole keyboard for every letter. With two thumbs, each one covers half the keys, and one thumb can move towards the next letter while the other is still pressing.

Hold the phone in both hands with your fingers behind it and both thumbs free. Let the left thumb take the left half of the keyboard and the right thumb the right half, with the space bar going to whichever thumb did not type the last letter. It feels clumsy for a few days if you are used to one hand. Then it becomes clearly faster.

One handed typing still has its place, on a crowded train or with a bag in your hand. Most phones have a one handed mode that shrinks the keyboard towards one side so the thumb can reach every key.

Trust autocorrect and prediction

Fast phone typists do not hit every key accurately. They type approximately and let the keyboard fix it. The software is built for this: it looks at where your thumbs landed and at which words are likely, and picks the best match.

• Do not go back for small mistakes. Finish the word. In most cases the correction happens when you press space.
• Use the suggestion bar. When the word you want appears above the keyboard after two or three letters, tap it. For long words this saves many key presses.
• Teach it your words. If the keyboard keeps changing a name or a term you use, add it to the personal dictionary or accept your own spelling when it is offered. After that it stops interfering.
• Read before you send. Autocorrect occasionally produces a wrong word that is spelled correctly. A two second look at the message catches these.

Try swipe typing

Swipe typing, also called glide typing, means sliding one finger or thumb from letter to letter without lifting, and raising it at the end of the word. The keyboard works out the word from the shape of the path. Spaces are added for you.

It suits one handed use particularly well, and many people find it as fast as two thumb tapping for ordinary words. It is weaker for names, addresses, passwords and unusual terms, where tapping is more reliable. You can mix the two freely: swipe the common words and tap the rest.

Set up text shortcuts

Every phone lets you define short abbreviations that expand into longer text. This is one of the most useful features that almost nobody sets up. Good candidates are things you type often and exactly:

• Your email address, for example "@@" expanding to the full address.
• Your home or work address.
• Your phone number.
• Standard replies, such as "omw" for "On my way, there in ten minutes".

Look for "text replacement" in the keyboard settings on an iPhone, or "personal dictionary" on Android. Five minutes of setup removes hundreds of key presses a month.

Gestures worth knowing

• Move the cursor with the space bar. Press and hold the space bar, then slide left or right. The cursor moves through the text, which is far easier than tapping at the exact spot.
• Double space for a full stop. Pressing space twice at the end of a sentence inserts a full stop and a space, and the next letter is capitalised.
• Hold for accents and symbols. Holding a letter shows its accented versions. Holding the full stop often shows other punctuation.
• Slide from the number key. On many keyboards you can press the "123" key, slide to a digit or symbol and lift. The keyboard returns to letters by itself.
• Delete by word. On some keyboards, sliding left from the delete key removes whole words.

Use dictation for long messages

For anything longer than a few sentences, the microphone key is often the quickest route. Speak naturally, say the punctuation where you need it, and then correct the few errors by hand. It works best in a quiet place and for everyday language.

Settings that help

• Add your languages. If you write in two languages, enable both in the keyboard settings. Modern keyboards detect which one you are using, and autocorrect stops fighting you.
• Keep key feedback on if you like it. A slight vibration or click on each key helps some people keep rhythm. Others are faster without it. Try both.
• Adjust the keyboard height. Some keyboards let you make the keys taller. Larger targets mean fewer misses.
• Use landscape for long typing. Turning the phone sideways gives wider keys, which suits large hands.

Look after your thumbs and neck

Long sessions of thumb typing can make the base of the thumb ache, and looking down at a phone for hours strains the neck. Raise the phone closer to eye level, change your grip from time to time and take breaks. For a long email or a document, a real keyboard is kinder to your hands and faster. A small wireless keyboard connects to any phone or tablet.

How fast can phone typing get?

Average phone typing is somewhere around 35 to 40 words per minute, and practised two thumb typists who use prediction well go much faster. That is not far below average keyboard typing. The limit shows on long, precise text with symbols, numbers and editing, where a full keyboard still wins clearly. Use the phone for what it is good at, set it up properly, and switch to a keyboard when the job is long.