The speed of typing on a smartphone is catching up with physical keyboards, according to a large study of users on touchscreen handsets. Research involving more than 37,000 people found that the average speed using both thumbs is 38 words per minute, with auto-correct features helping make the majority faster. One hundred words per minute is considered a fast typing speed on a physical keyboard, but scientists say most people achieve between 35 to 65 words per minute, suggesting that the so-called “typing gap” is narrowing. (Martin Keene/PA)While auto-correct of words was found to offer a clear benefit, word prediction and manually choosing word suggestions appears to hamper smartphone typing speeds. Almost three quarters (74%) of people use their two thumbs when typing on a smartphone, and the quickest to take part in the study managed to notch up 85 words per minute.

Source: Irish Examiner October 02, 2019 05:03 UTC