Mobile Users Can Type As Fast As Keyboard Users, Says Study

In the age of touch screen mobile phones, while some of us struggle to type things correctly, some are actually pretty fast and can even match the typing speed of a regular keyboard user.

As reported by The Guardian, a new study was conducted to analyze the typing speeds of mobile users involved around 37,000 participants from over 160 countries across the globe. The participants who took the typing speed test were using their smartphone for 6 hours per day on an average and many of them were women in their 20s.

It was found that people who typed with a single finger achieved a speed of 29wpm (words per minute) on an average. But those who used two thumbs to type fast managed to crunch 38wpm. By comparison, that’s around 25% lower than the average typing speed on a regular keyboard, which is 52wpm.

However, one participant managed to beat keyboard users by a surprising difference, reaching the jaw-dropping speeds of 82wpm. That means practically it’s possible for mobile users to beat their keyboard rivals.

There are several factors that contribute to the typing experience of mobile users. We have the auto-correct feature, which can be really annoying sometimes, but it can improve the typing speed by around 9wpm. On the other hand, the word suggestion feature might slow down the smartphone typists.

Also, we have seen how tech companies put lots of effort into making their virtual keyboards more responsive and efficient. They must be able to detect what letter is being pressed in case the user’s finger doesn’t land in the correct place.

Another trend the researchers noticed was the change in typing speeds due to age difference. Teenagers were fast and typed at an average speed of 40, but the people who crossed the age of 40 (29wpm) and 50 (26wpm) typed considerably slower.

“We see a clear trend due to experience in typing on these devices. Young people are growing up with them and some do all of their typing on mobile phones,” Anna Feit, who is a computer scientist at ETH Zurich in Switzerland and co-authored the study, told The Guardian.

So leaving the negatives aside, spending more time on your smartphone gives you something to flaunt. You can type faster even on a screen that isn’t too big.