Alternate keyboard for IiPone

[mikestock]

I have had, probably 8 or 9 different Samsung Galaxies over the years. For the first time ever I decided to get an iPhone 11 as my 16 family members from the next two generations to swear by. They have tried, for years, to get me to try the iPhone, telling me how much better they are. Of course, none of them would ever be caught dead using anything but the iPhone.

So far, it has been a disaster for a 77-year-old to make the change. The first problem for me is that punctuation, numbers, and letters are not on the same keyboard. For them, this is no issue but for a hunt-and-pecker with arthritic fingers, this is just an added aggravation. I did find one alternate keyboard that adds numbers but no punctuation.

My kids type with flying thumbs and I have tried to cultivate this method but there are sooo many errors.

I have watched the 96 minute Youtube video twice. Hopefully I'll adapt to some of the iPhone differences, but so far I can make calls, type by voice-to-text and read emails. The rest of the phone features are mostly a mystery to me. I'm kind of back to the flip phone era, as far as useful features. I let the kids talk me out of returning it when I could. Wish I had.

[wa8yxm]

How about using a blue tooth keypad. Of course it eats battery power but you can find a whole lot of 'em at places like Staples and Worst er, best buy even Amazon has 'em for sale. I have used them from time to time (Well actually I used a USB keyboard with an adaptor) with my 'droid but ... Mostly I don't KB on the Droid save for short google searches and such so no need for puncutation.

[MrWizard]

On my Samsung
If i hold the phone sideways i get a larger keyboard
And iirc Gboard from Google has the numbers across the top like a pc keyboard
Also i use Swype keyboard for slide the finger typing
Not available anymore, but Gboard and many others also do this
There should be something similar for the iPhone

[Lwiddis]

"I have watched the 96 minute Youtube video twice." I would have suggested 3 hours of practice on the phone instead of watching a video twice.

None of us use all the features/apps. Try each one out and then decide if you find it necessary or helpful. You won't break it. For instance are you taking any photos? Videos? Are you SAVING any photos others send you that you like? Start there. You are a little older than I am but you sound OLD. I love the iPhone and iPad and I ask my daughter or spouse when I have a question.

[mikestock]

I can't call myself a perfectionist but I have tendancies that way. I use voice-to-text but hate to let errors go uncorrected so I may as well just go ahead and type it.

[Happytraveler]

My husband messages on the iPhone everyday. He doesn't use the keyboard ever instead he talks to the microphone on the keyboard, LOL. If he doesn't like it he X's some of it out. I don't think people care about mistakes..

[wildtoad]

The older I get( and hope one day to be 77) the harder it gets to adapt to stuff. I would not trade my iPhone for any other phone, but every now and then wish I had my old Motorola Razr. But, then I realize the least used app on my iPhone is the phone!

[Gdetrailer]

mikestock wrote:
I have had, probably 8 or 9 different Samsung Galaxies over the years. For the first time ever I decided to get an iPhone 11 as my 16 family members from the next two generations to swear by. They have tried, for years, to get me to try the iPhone, telling me how much better they are. Of course, none of them would ever be caught dead using anything but the iPhone.

So far, it has been a disaster for a 77-year-old to make the change. The first problem for me is that punctuation, numbers, and letters are not on the same keyboard. For them, this is no issue but for a hunt-and-pecker with arthritic fingers, this is just an added aggravation. I did find one alternate keyboard that adds numbers but no punctuation.

My kids type with flying thumbs and I have tried to cultivate this method but there are sooo many errors.

I have watched the 96 minute Youtube video twice. Hopefully I'll adapt to some of the iPhone differences, but so far I can make calls, type by voice-to-text and read emails. The rest of the phone features are mostly a mystery to me. I'm kind of back to the flip phone era, as far as useful features. I let the kids talk me out of returning it when I could. Wish I had.

Hmm, funny, my Galaxy and all of my other Andriod phones with "soft keyboards" that I have had never had numbers or caps on the same "keyboard", always had to hit the Shift.. It always caps the first letter of each new sentence for you, all you have to do is hit a return and start a new sentence..

Pretty much standard issue with any "soft keyboard".

Perhaps try talking to your phone, I found that my Galaxy Andriod does pretty well at speech to text.

Otherwise you will have to find a new "soft keyboard" App that can be installed on you "I" product.

Most "texters" shorten/abbreviate words, don't use punctuation and don't bother with Caps which how they can type so fast on the soft keyboard.