Smartphone keyboards dynamically adjust the "hitbox" of each key based on what's previously been typed and overall letter frequencies of the language. So when typing "Paris is the capital of Fr..." [*], the A key becomes much easier to hit than its neighbors. Fun fact: back in the day, when this tech was less refined, certain letter contexts made the hitboxes of some keys effectively nonexistent [0]. I wonder if an a…
Show HN: A 2-row, 16-key keyboard designed for smartphones
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Re: Show HN: A 2-row, 16-key keyboard designed for smartphones
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why is it hard? In principle you render an image instead of discrete buttons, and do your hit testing manually. Sure, it’s more annoying than just having your OS tell you what key got hit, but keyboard makers are doing way fancier stuff just fine (e.g. Swype).
Apple's keyboard receives more information, to put it simply. It doesn't get told that a touch was at a particular point, but the entire fuzzy area. Allowing you to use circular occlusion and other things to choose between side-by-side buttons and override the predictive behaviour when it is the wrong choice. A third-party maker gets a single point - usually several in short succession, but still it requires more mat…
Re: Show HN: A 2-row, 16-key keyboard designed for smartphones
#63Earlier quoted context omitted.
This could be a good alternative to Minuum when mixed together. The single line was great in theory, but in practice I often preferred the regular keyboard layout. Maybe the autopredict did not work all that well, at least with the multiple languages I mixed then? Going to two lines might improve it, and devices are bigger now than back then.
Blast from the past using Minuum on a Nexus 4, my second Android smartphone from my first with the O.G. Motorola Droid.
But it must have been great for the small Nexus 4.
Re: Show HN: A 2-row, 16-key keyboard designed for smartphones
#64Reminds of T9 texting and I did like T9. I'll have to try this.
I call BS. NOBODY ever LIKED to type on T9. Maybe you well-tolerated it. Maybe you got reasonably good at it. But not LIKED. There's a reason text messaging really took over when smartphones came in... because T9 was no longer needed. It was objectively awful.
Re: Show HN: A 2-row, 16-key keyboard designed for smartphones
#65Reminds of T9 texting and I did like T9. I'll have to try this.
I call BS. NOBODY ever LIKED to type on T9. Maybe you well-tolerated it. Maybe you got reasonably good at it. But not LIKED. There's a reason text messaging really took over when smartphones came in... because T9 was no longer needed. It was objectively awful.
Re: Show HN: A 2-row, 16-key keyboard designed for smartphones
#66Re: Show HN: A 2-row, 16-key keyboard designed for smartphones
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
Apple's keyboard receives more information, to put it simply. It doesn't get told that a touch was at a particular point, but the entire fuzzy area. Allowing you to use circular occlusion and other things to choose between side-by-side buttons and override the predictive behaviour when it is the wrong choice. A third-party maker gets a single point - usually several in short succession, but still it requires more mat…
Are you aware of the `majorRadius` and `majorRadiusTolerance` UITouch properties?
Re: Show HN: A 2-row, 16-key keyboard designed for smartphones
#68Smartphone keyboards dynamically adjust the "hitbox" of each key based on what's previously been typed and overall letter frequencies of the language. So when typing "Paris is the capital of Fr..." [*], the A key becomes much easier to hit than its neighbors. Fun fact: back in the day, when this tech was less refined, certain letter contexts made the hitboxes of some keys effectively nonexistent [0]. I wonder if an a…
Re: Show HN: A 2-row, 16-key keyboard designed for smartphones
#69Re: Show HN: A 2-row, 16-key keyboard designed for smartphones
#70I noticed "International patent (PCT/KR2025/099177), International Publication " Are you truly seeking a software patent for this? If so what is the plan for leveraging ownership over the patent?