My very first phone had a physical keyboard, and I'm as nostalgic for them as the next person. But after spending time with both the Minimal Phone and the Unihertz Titan 2 this year, I was surprised to learn that I now prefer to store my keys virtual.
Virtual buttons are (surprisingly) easier to press
Back in the days when I chose Samsung Alias as my first mobile phone, the features were completely different. If you didn't have a phone with a physical keyboard, you typed words on the keyboard using the T9. I've had friends who would text under their desks feeling lonely, but that was never me. The T9 required pressing the same number multiple times to switch between letters, and it felt like wasting button presses. I wanted a keyboard.
Today's landscape is completely different. Physical keyboards can't compare to what we now consider dumb keyboards. They're up against touchscreen phones that, after decades of successive iterations, have become bafflingly responsive.
The virtual buttons are quick and easy to press – I find it easier than physical keys. And this is just the beginning.
I can position the keyboard where I need it
I don't have big hands, but I have particularly long fingers. As a result, the position of my thumbs when I pick up the phone may be slightly higher than that of the average person. When typing on the virtual keyboard, it can be helpful to slightly drag the keyboard up so that it is slightly further away from the bottom edge of the screen. If I'm using the S Pen, I sometimes squeeze the keyboard and drag it to the right side.
On phones with a physical keyboard, the keyboard tends to extend to the bottom edge of the phone. While it's not an apples-to-apples comparison since QWERTY phones tend to be shaped differently and fingers don't necessarily fall into the same places, the keyboard is still lower than my thumbs would like. Unlike the virtual keyboard, I can't raise the keyboard to a more comfortable height.
I can customize the keyboard to suit my needs
Back in the days when phones with keypads were more common but the software was pretty much the same, keypads were a way to decide which phone you liked best. You could pick up a few phones and type a few words, then go home with the device whose keyboard you found most convenient.
Today there simply aren't many options to choose from. The two devices I named upfront aren't the only ones to choose between, but they haven't been joined by many others. And given how different these phones are, you can't choose between them based solely on their keyboards.
With the virtual keyboard this is not a problem. I can buy any phone (or at least any Android phone) and customize the virtual keyboard to my liking. I can customize whether there is a separate number line or whether special characters are visible all the time. I can decide if regular punctuation marks like periods need a separate button. On larger devices, I can even choose a split or floating keyboard. The latter is sometimes useful when I scrolling the keyboard using the S Penso my movements don't have to go that far. I can then switch to the first option when I'm ready to put my pen down.
Modern virtual keyboards can do so many things that I don't realize I take it for granted until I try a phone that doesn't have it. You can even replace the virtual keyboard with a free alternative without breaking the phone.
Autocomplete and suggestions built in
Virtual keyboards take it for granted that you're going to make typos, so the top row is reserved for suggested words. As long as you type something close to the word you had in mind, the keyboard will automatically correct your typing, or you can tap the word you want.
Physical keyboards do not immediately lead to error-free typing. In fact, my typos increased as I tried to adjust to a completely unfamiliar keyboard. But unlike the virtual keyboard, suggested words are now displayed on the screen rather than as an extension of the keyboard itself.
Although this does not require the arms to move any further, it does require a complete change in sensation. I have to stop typing by touch and pressing with my fingertips before touching the screen with the pad of my finger instead. I have no doubt that it can become second nature to someone who uses one of these phones long enough, but at its core it remains a more disjointed experience than anything virtual.
Emoji is part of the keyboard
My younger self might be the judge of what I'm going to say, but emojis have become a key part of my communication. I've worked remotely my entire career, and an emoticon is often the easiest way to convey my tone. Slack is not a novel: I have neither the space to stage the scene nor complete control over the characters involved. I will use all possible abbreviations to show that I do not mean the words I say briefly or sarcastically. Far from childish Using emoticons at work is good.
Virtual keyboards have a built-in emoji button. When you press this button, emojis appear where symbols would normally appear, so our fingers don't have to move from where they already are.
It's so convenient that it's one of the reasons I prefer using my virtual keyboard rather than whipping out a Bluetooth keyboard, where emojis suddenly become much less accessible. People who regularly use stickers and GIFs have even more reasons to prefer a virtual keyboard over a physical one.
In my experience over the past year, physical keyboards have become more of a hindrance than a gift for me. I'm someone who often writes thousands of words a day right on my phone. While it may seem like a logical investment in a QWERTY phone, I'm surprised to find that I'm much more productive without it. But perhaps this shouldn't be a surprise, given that I'm increasingly even choose a virtual keyboard instead of a full-size Bluetooth keyboard.
