Typing on a touchscreen device is nowhere near as convenient as typing on a physical keyboard. Tapping away on a slab of glass gives you little feedback aside from vibration, and the tiny keys make it easy to mistype.

While there's no perfect solution to this problem, you can learn some shortcuts and tips to help you type faster and more accurately on your Android smartphone. Since most people spend a fair amount of time with their phone typing, learning how to text faster on Android can save a ton of time.

1. Download an Alternate Keyboard

The keyboard that comes with your Android phone isn't always the best option, especially if you want to type faster. Some default keyboards (like Samsung's) might make you more prone to mistakes that the autocorrect feature won't always catch.

Fortunately, there are a lot of great Android keyboards to try. Here are some worthy alternatives that can help you learn how to type faster:

  • Gboard: Gboard is one of the most well-known Android keyboards, since it's made by Google. Not only does it allow for glide typing, voice typing, handwriting, and seamless multilingual typing, but it also supports emoji predictions.
  • Microsoft SwiftKey: SwiftKey has been around for a long time, and it boasts highly accurate text prediction and swipe typing. It also offers emoji suggestions and helps you with multilingual autocorrection across 300+ languages.
  • Fleksy: Fleksy prides itself on providing powerful text predictions and more natural gesture typing. It's no wonder that a long-time Fleksy user broke the Guinness World Record for fastest mobile typing.

Personally, I prefer SwiftKey—I find that its autocorrect catches more of my mistakes, and the AI-powered text prediction helps you select words and phrases that you're actually about to type.

2. Take Advantage of Swipe Typing

What if you could type without barely lifting a finger? When you take advantage of swipe typing, you can do just that. It's easy to form words and sentences just by dragging your finger across the keyboard.

Gboard comes with this feature by default. To toggle or adjust it, head to Settings > System > Languages & input > On-screen keyboard > Gboard > Glide typing and adjust the options as needed. Most alternative keyboards support this feature, so you'll find similar options in their settings.

A line will follow your finger as you type, allowing you to see the path you make. Simply lift your finger when you want to create a space between words. It takes some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, you'll find yourself typing even faster. But if you find swipe typing challenging to grasp, there are other ways of typing on Android.

3. Use Google Voice Typing

If you want to avoid mobile typing altogether, you can enter text quickly by talking into your phone. Android comes with Google Voice Typing pre-installed—this accurate voice-to-text feature comes in handy as long as you can speak clearly into the microphone.

To access it on Gboard, tap the microphone icon on your keyboard (other keyboards might have a similar key). If not, you can manually switch it on by going to Settings > System > Languages & input > On-screen keyboard > Gboard > Voice typing and enable Use voice typing.

After that, you'll see a microphone icon appear in the top right of the keyboard. We have a guide on fixing Android's voice typing permission issue if you encounter it when you try to use the feature.

4. Create Text Shortcuts

You can't learn how to type faster on Android without utilizing shortcuts. These let you create abbreviations for certain words that easily expand to the full string. When you type an abbreviation, such as "OMW," the keyboard will recognize this, and you'll see the expanded "On my way" in Gboard's text suggestion bar.

In order to create your own shortcut dictionary in Gboard, hit the Gear icon to open its settings. Then head to Dictionary > Personal Dictionary and select your language. From here, tap the Plus icon in the top-right corner.

Type in the word or phrase you want to shorten at the top, then enter your preferred abbreviation in the Shortcut box. You'll now see this shortcut in your dictionary, allowing you to type long words and phrases quickly. Repeat this as many times as you'd like for additional phrases.

In SwiftKey, you'll find this option under Rich input > Clipboard > Add a new clip when you open the app.

5. Master Text Predictions

Most keyboards come with a text prediction feature. Keyboards like SwiftKey and Gboard use AI to learn your typing patterns and most frequently used words.

As you write a sentence, the keyboard will predict what you're going to type next. These options typically appear in the bar above your keys—tapping one of them will insert that word or phrase directly into your message. You can also take advantage of this to insert the rest of a long word after you type the first few letters.

6. Modify Your Keyboard Layout

Bigger isn't always better when it comes to phone keyboards. Trying to use a big Android phone with one hand is a challenge, especially when it comes to typing.

You can change your layout settings in SwiftKey to accommodate this. To do so, start by tapping the double-arrow icon in the top-left of the keyboard to reveal the shortcut bar if you don't see it already. Next, tap the three-dot button on the right side to show all options.

In the list, select Resize to adjust the keyboard size to your liking. Alternatively, scroll down the options and choose Modes > One-hand to shrink the keyboard and shift it to the left or right side of your screen. Thumb is another great mode that places a gap in the middle of your keyboard, making it easier for you to type with your thumb.

Gboard has the same one-handed option, so you'll want to take advantage of that if you stick with Google's keyboard. To access this, open Gboard's settings as described above. Then go to Preferences, tap One-handed mode, and select Right-handed mode or Left-handed mode. You can also use Keyboard height to choose from several different sizes.

7. Practice With Typing Games on Android

No matter what Android keyboard tips you use, your typing speed might be a bottleneck. Here are some great Android games you can play to practice typing and have fun simultaneously:

  • Fast Typing: Fast Typing is a simple game that helps you improve your typing skills. You can start by practicing letters, words, and then sentences. The app also has statistics to show how you're getting on.
  • Typing Master: Typing Master features words engraved on bricks that fall from the top in the style of Tetris. Your aim is to type those words quickly and accurately before the brick hits the ground.

If you're unskilled with a keyboard in general, visit some other great websites that help you master typing in a fun way.

8. Use an External Keyboard

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Despite the adjustments above, your phone's touchscreen keyboard will only take you so far. Use an external keyboard if you need to type even faster. Some pros of using an external keyboard are faster and more ergonomic typing.

You can even go a mile further and use a mouse and a keyboard on your Android phone for a complete desktop-like experience.

Of course, the major problem with external keyboards is portability. And if you dread the idea of carrying a full-fledged keyboard everywhere you go just for faster typing, you don't have to. You can get portable keyboards like the Arteck HB030B and the Logitech K380 that are also optimized to work well with mobile phones.

How to Text Faster on Android Today

Hopefully, you'll take advantage of these tips to learn how to type faster on your mobile device. Whether you use Gboard, SwiftKey, or another third-party keyboard app, typing on Android becomes a lot quicker once you master these tricks.