How to use the QuickType keyboard in iOS 8

[Allyson Kazmucha]

iOS 8 brings with it a brand new way to type on your iPhone and iPad. QuickType is a new type of predictive keyboard that gets smarter as you use it. Not only that, since QuickType is contextually aware of your conversation, it can even present you with an answer to a question someone asked so you spend even less time typing out responses. And depending on who you're corresponding with, QuickType can even pick up on your conversation style. All you've got to do to train QuickType is start using it!

How to start using QuickType on your iPhone or iPad

1. Launch any app and pull up the keyboard — we'll use the Messages app as an example.
2. Simply start typing as you always have.
3. You'll notice that QuickType instantly starts suggesting words that may come next.
4. Tap on the word in the QuickType bar that you'd like to add to your message and keep typing or adding words as QuickType predicts them.
5. If you type in a word that QuickType either doesn't recognize or suggests something else for, it will show your spelling in quotations on the far left. Tap on it to confirm that's what you meant and keep typing and selecting suggestions.

How to hide the QuickType keyboard on your iPhone or iPad


If you don't want to completely turn off QuickType but instead just want to hide it temporarily, you can do so in one swipe.

1. Launch any app and pull up the keyboard.
2. Swipe down on the keyboard over the QuickType bar.
3. The QuickType bar should disappear but you should see a small grab bar above the keyboard still.
4. To bring back up the QuickType bar, swipe up starting at the top of the actual keyboard below the grab bar.

How to turn off the QuickType keyboard on your iPhone or iPad


By default, the QuickType bar on your iPhone or iPad's keyboard will be turned on. If you don't want to just hide it and prefer disabling it altogether, you can do so on the fly, which makes it easy to re-enable quickly too.

1. Launch any app and pull up the keyboard.
2. Tap and hold on the emoji icon in the bottom left of the keyboard.
3. Swipe upwards and hover your finger over the Predictive toggle and release your finger.
4. To enable QuickType again, just follow the same three steps.

That's all there is to it! If you're using the QuickType bar in iOS 8, let us know what you think of it so far! Do you like it or is there still a lot of room for improvement? Sound off in the comments and let me know!

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