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How a custom keyboard can extend your app’s capabilities

Reading Time: 3 minutes

When developers think of building an app, there are almost limitless possibilities to it. It can be a game or a tool created to help complete a certain task. Usually, these apps are conceptualized as something with a screen and a contained function. Now, one of the questions that developers are often faced with is whether it is necessary to add a custom keyboard to the app itself or not.

Having a custom keyboard can be quite advantageous, depending on the kind of app you’re building. Let’s explore the benefits of having a custom keyboard in your app and how it can actually extend your app’s capabilities.

Why include a custom keyboard in your app?

Apps with custom keyboards can do a lot of different things. They can act as a replacement for a built-in keyboard, or they can act as an extension to the apps’ existing functionality. Here are some of the other reasons why having a custom keyboard is a great idea.

Replacement keyboard

One of the most popular reasons for creating a custom keyboard is to have it function as a replacement for a built-in keyboard. When you create a keyboard replacement, you can give users more customization options and more ways to achieve their tasks.

Replacement keyboards are characterized by having a completely different look and feel than the native keyboard. Some replacement keyboards even have different functionality than what’s offered by the native keyboard. It can also help users have access to more specific commands for the app that a native keyboard may not have.

It can be a lot more useful than a standard keyboard. There are a lot of keyboard apps available in the market, but the ones built into apps can actually be more useful than a standard app. They can extend the apps with their own functions and features.

Extra Functionality

Another type of app is the one with a custom keyboard. This type of app has a custom keyboard that is not meant to replace the native keyboard but is meant to enhance the apps’ existing functionality. It gives users access to more or different controls for the app.

If an app is made up of different modules and tools, it may be a good idea to consider adding a custom keyboard to the app. For instance, if an app has a watch app function, you can add a custom keyboard that can help users control the app more efficiently. The custom keyboard can provide more functions than what the watch app already has available.

Configurability

Another thing apps can do with custom keyboards is to allow users to configure the keyboard to fit their needs. This can be useful if you’re building an app that has a lot of different functions and features.

A configurable keyboard can allow users to customize the keyboard to fit their needs. For instance, you can include function keys for specific functions. If there are controls in the app that you want users to be able to access from the keyboard, a configurable keyboard can enable this.

With customizable keys, it can make it easy for users to access functions. Extra keys can help users access functions faster and more efficiently. It can also make it easier to learn the keyboard since they’ll already know which keys to press to access the functions.

Conclusion

Adding a custom keyboard can be quite advantageous for apps. It can help users to complete tasks faster and more efficiently, and it can even help improve users’ experience with the app. Whether you want to extend the functionality of your app or you want users to have access to more controls for the app, you should consider adding a custom keyboard to your app.

Don’t settle for just a run-of-the-mill native keyboard for your new app. You need something more flexible and customizable, which can only be achieved with the help of Fleksy. Our Fleksy is designed to provide a powerful typing experience to your end-users through our state-of-the-art SDK for developers. It’s essentially one of the most intuitive keyboard technologies out there.

Start building today with the Fleksy custom keyboard SDK.

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