When comparing SwiftKey vs Minuum Keyboard, the Slant community recommends SwiftKey for most people. In the question“What are the best Android soft keyboards?” SwiftKey is ranked 1st while Minuum Keyboard is ranked 3rd. The most important reason people chose SwiftKey is:
The prediction engine of SwiftKey is continuously being improved by using data from social networks, text messages or even emails from the user's device. Predictions appear above the keyboard as soon as a letter is typed. By adjusting to the user's writing habits and style, it really helps to save time when writing.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Highly acclaimed for its constantly improving prediction engine
The prediction engine of SwiftKey is continuously being improved by using data from social networks, text messages or even emails from the user's device. Predictions appear above the keyboard as soon as a letter is typed. By adjusting to the user's writing habits and style, it really helps to save time when writing.
Pro Can be customized with plenty of themes available
Swiftkey offers a wide range of different themes to add personality to your keyboard (some are free.. others paid for via in app purchases).
Pro Has a large number of languages available
Has 61+ languages available that can be downloaded. So chances are the languages you need will be available.
Pro Multiple simultaneous languages
Keyboard can integrate multiple languages into one seamless autocorrect engine.
Pro Can be resized to as large or as small as you want
You can choose between five different sizes to resize the keyboard.
Pro Can be undocked
The feature may seem odd but the ability to undock the keyboard is extremely useful in certain situations. For example when creating content or using difficult websites.
Pro Ad-free
SwiftKey is competely ad-free.
Pro Can be customized to have a numbers row in easy reach
Users can optionally display a number pad above the keyboard.
Pro Gestures typing or tap typing
Swiftkey supports both popular methods of typing. Either way the methods integrate perfectly with the predictions featured above the keyboard.
Pro Fast access to Emojis
When users type the name of the desired Emoji, a small list will come up where the right one can be selected.
Pro Free
Swiftkey is free to download and use, though there are in app purchases to unlock more features.
Pro Users can view in-depth usage statistics
SwiftKey will even provide you exciting data about how you type such as a heatmap.
The more you use SwiftKey, the more your heat map will transform from perfect circles into blobs where you tend to press. From the Heatmap you'll know where you tend to make mistakes and how SwiftKey is improved. Other stats provided include:
- Distance flowed in meters
- Keystrokes saved
- Typos corrected
- Words completed
Pro Supports Google voice dictation
Even though SwiftKey is a third party keyboard, Swiftkey still uses the preferred Google voice dictation.
Pro All the typing information saved from SwiftKey is synced across devices
Any learned words, phrases (inc. email addresses) will be backed up to the cloud and available across multiple devices.
Pro Various convenient layouts available, also for tablets
Among the layout choices is a split keyboard which anchors each half to the lower corners of the screen, where one would naturally hold a tablet device while typing, with the option to place a dedicated 10-key number pad in the unused space between them.
Pro Cloud backup
Pro Social Account Integration for learning new languages
Pro Uses less than half the vertical space
All three rows are smashed into a single row, with prediction driving the typed words. Uses gestures to complete space, backspace, and return for even more space saving. This design is great for devices with smaller screens.
Pro Full keyboard when needed
Swiping two fingers up will open the full keyboard when more precision is need or when Minuum does not know the word you need.
Pro Hover mode
Has a mode where you can move the keyboard around across the screen.
Pro Easy access to emoji
Bonus panel lets you get easy access to your most frequently used emoji.
Pro Easy to use UI
Easy access to cursor movement keys, cut/copy/paste, share and more.
Pro Customizable keyboard colors
Minuum Keyboard has a chameleon feature where the user can change the color of the keyboard. This allows for users to match their devices color, case or wallpaper.
Pro Multiple Languages
Works in 13 languages.
Pro Smartwatch support
With the small size of the Minuum keyboard it makes and ideal use case for smartwatches, due to their limited screen real estate.
Cons
Con Swipe recognition not as smart as Swype
It requires much more precision, if you miss one letter you have little chance of having the desired word, which makes it difficult to use in some situations.
Con Privacy, automatically saves unknown words
E.g. passwords entered in plain text fields, place names, people names etc.
Con High data bandwidth usage
This product consumes several MB per week, sometimes per day. The fact that SwiftKey doesn't fix the bug despite many similar reports is not really reassuring.
Con No language separation or weighing
If you load several languages, you can choose any keyboard for any of them, but it won't help the recognition algorithm, which insists on giving other language words in the most absurd situations.
Again, no help from their support to arrange the situation.
Con Cannot remove some options
You cannot remove the emojis or Info button from the keyboard.
Con Themes are in app purchases
Like most third party keyboards, Swiftkey offers tons of themes but of course they cost money and have to be purchased through the app.
Con The smallest layout is too big
Con High processor/memory usage makes it unusable on older devices
SwiftKey is extremely resource-intensive compared to many of its competitors, and will often lag even on high-end smartphones.
Con Predicting and inserting word combinations faulty
Recent update enabled Swiftkey to predict short word combinations. In principle this should be quite convenient, but so far it turns out this new algorithm is defective and way too aggressive. Too often it inserts combinations that are completely meaningless, or inserts English combinations in Dutch sentences or the other way around. Has almost doubled the amount of corrections needed.
Con Bought by Microsoft
Will undoubtedly lead to less innovation.
Con No longer updated
Hasn't recieved significant updates since 2016.
Con Can't type URLs
Sloppy typing only works on words in its dictionary. You can't enter words without a space between them, because it wants to "correct" the first word you have already accepted. This makes it impossible to type many URLs, unless you do it letter-by-letter, or go back and erase the spaces, which is tedious.
Con Only major languages
Only supports the most used languages at the moment.
Con Difficult learning curve
Takes a while to get used to, if used while minimized.