14 DAY TRIAL // A teenager from Brazil who had previously set the world record for fast typing on a touchscreen device has broken his own record this week using an iPhone 6 Plus and the Flesky keyboard.
In May 2014, Marcel Fernandes Filho set the Guinness World Record for “Fastest Time To Type A Text Message On A Touchscreen Device.” The previous record, set by Marcel with a Samsung Galaxy S4, was 18 seconds and 19 milliseconds.
17 seconds flat
As the embedded video shows, Marcel now used an iPhone 6 Plus. Taking on himself, he managed to lift the bar even higher this time around, finishing the speed-typing test in 17 seconds.
The video is sponsored by Fleksy, a software developer that designs one of the world’s best virtual keyboards for smartphones. Why did Marcel use an iPhone this time around? We’re not sure, but we know for a fact that he couldn’t have used an iPhone and Flesky in May because iOS 8 hadn’t been released yet, and the requirement for installing a third-party keyboard like Fleksy on an iPhone is iOS 8.
The screen size is also something worth considering. In fact, it may be the biggest factor at play here. The iPhone 6 Plus has a 5.5-inch display, which is considerably larger than the 4.7-inch screen of the iPhone 6 and infinitely more accessible than the small displays of the iPhone 5 and the iPhones before it.
iOS 8 and third-party keyboards
“Swipe rather than type, or go old school with the classic keyboard layout,” says Apple in the promo materials for iOS 8. “For the first time, iOS 8 opens up the keyboard to developers. And once new keyboards are available, you’ll be able to choose your favorite input method or layout systemwide.”
Flesky is one of the first developers to take advantage of this enhancement. It brings both accuracy and color customization to iPhone and iPad. To install a third-party keyboard, iOS 8 users need to go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards > Add New Keyboard > and select their preferred input.
Some keyboards, however, collect the user’s typing habits and / or patterns, and some of them actually connect to servers to offer some services. This has raised some concern that third-party keyboards on iOS 8 can be used as keyloggers, though there haven’t been any reported cases where someone’s information was leaked because of this.
