The tactile feedback of real keys was so much better than haptic screens.
It could be nostalgia, but I was pretty quick and generally accurate sending short messages.
Not sure I would want to type a document on T9.
Actual Keyboard >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Touch screen typing >>>>>>> T9
You could literally type the message without taking the phone out of the pocket because it was extremely predictable and you knew the menu structure by the gut.
I updated to ios17 excited about the new transformer model, and it still predicts absolute BS words I’ve never used in my life.
I definitely remember typing working better on my iPhone 5 which was 20% smaller so I don’t know what’s gone wrong, but it’s gone really wrong and the fixes also suck.
Bonus points for e-ink-based keys.
Edit: Realistically I’d be surprised if something like this doesn’t already exist.
What about an updated BlackBerry Torch 9800?
Some of the immediate things that came to mind were making a case that integrates the phone with the keyboard; and a small battery to extend the life of the phone since the keyboard adds to the formfactor anyway.
Bonus points if this creates a market for a small phone again (iphone 12 user here).
I have seen people type blazingly fast on touchscreen phones though, albeit I didn't run error stats on their output. I accept that I may lack some skills needed to become better at this, but seeing others highlighting that this is a problem to them is not surprising to me, based on anecdotal evidence.
E.g., I knew someone who added to his email signature a permanent apology for typing errors giving the justification that he was typing on a touchscreen device.
All in all, I agree that the problem is real, and havging had experience with a working solution (physical keyboard) I wonder why there appears to be no business case today for such devices.
I don't need 15 cameras or ai anything. Heck make it a battery + keyboard case that goes on to a pixel and does a decent typing job and I'd buy it.
My only disagreement. I think many people don't know they want something better because they've never used something better. The video in the link describes how the users do short texts to get around the problem [0], including deleting whole blocks of text instead of editing. Teenagers, parents, and many others communicate heavily through texts and are often "up and down" like management/business users. On the whole I believe many people would benefit from a better text editing experience.
[0]: https://programs.sigchi.org/uist/2021/program/content/61484