Back in May, Brazilian teenager Marcel Fernandes Filho used Fleksy's predictive keyboard for Android on a Samsung Galaxy S4 to set a new world record of 18.19 seconds for the fastest typing of a text message on a touch-screen mobile phone. Filho's record was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records and required him to type Guinness' standard test message:

The razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human.

With Fleksy now available for iOS, Filho and Fleksy gave the record another try earlier this month, and Filho came through with a new record of 17.00 seconds using Fleksy on an iPhone 6 Plus.

“We’re very proud of Fleksy’s involvement in helping Marcel achieve this impressive feat,” said Ioannis Verdelis, Fleksy co-founder and COO. “The speed and accuracy Fleksy provides have yet again proven world-class.”

Fleksy is just one of a number of third-party keyboards that have launched for iOS, taking advantage of new APIs in iOS 8 to allow such keyboards. Many of the new keyboards offer predictive word suggestions and gesture support for faster typing, while others have more specialized uses. Apple has also enhanced its own built-in keyboard with QuickType predictive text in iOS 8.

With Fleksy's success on iOS at a $0.99 price point [Direct Link], the company is now seeking to broaden the keyboard's appeal on Android where it first gained traction. As a result, Fleksy is announcing a permanent 50 percent price cut for the Android version of Fleksy, dropping the price from $3.99 to $1.99.

Top Rated Comments

DanTheAppleMan Avatar
138 months ago
And now, on the 4S, it takes as long just to load it!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mdelvecchio Avatar
138 months ago
If it wasn't so cold where I am, I think I'd be able to beat that time using the stock keyboard iOS keyboard on an iPhone 6 Plus.

do buildings not exist where you live?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TsunamiTheClown Avatar
138 months ago
If it wasn't so cold where I am, I think I'd be able to beat that time using the stock keyboard iOS keyboard on an iPhone 6 Plus.

I tried Fleksy, and it seems to get in the way. That, or I'm just not used to it enough.

Is is that cold in Florida? <3
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
odditie Avatar
138 months ago
I downloaded and tried it on iOS and I found it to be better than swiftkey and swype for my tastes. I just got tired of the poor auto-correct and the bugs associated with third party keyboards. For example, the keyboard just refuses to show up sometimes when using spotlight, which I heavily rely on instead of going through folders looking for apps.

I went back to the default iOS keyboard and haven't looked back. I do think Apple should look at some of the gestures that fleksy uses like the swipe to the left to delete whole words and swipe to the left and hold to erase several words at once faster.

FYI - that was an iOS issue from my understanding. I believe Apple is now (as of 8.1.1) allowing the keyboard to live on the RAM once it is opened so doesn't get bumped off and require reloading and the issues like you mentioned as a result.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
foobarbaz Avatar
138 months ago
Wait, doesn't a predictive keyboard kinda defeat the purpose of a typing record?

Not to mention that the software could easily be tweaked (or trained) to predict the entire "standard test message."
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
saturnotaku Avatar
138 months ago
SwiftKey works better for me. Its swiping is more accurate with my fat fingers. I need to get it back on my phone since 8.1.1 is supposed to fix the issue with 3rd-party keyboards not displaying in certain apps.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
apple watch ultra 2 new black

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Monday June 16, 2025 8:45 am PDT by
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve). The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...
Logitech Logo Feature

Logitech Announces Two New Accessories for WWDC

Friday June 13, 2025 7:22 am PDT by
Alongside WWDC this week, Logitech announced notable new accessories for the iPad and Apple Vision Pro. The Logitech Muse is a spatially-tracked stylus developed for use with the Apple Vision Pro. Introduced during the WWDC 2025 keynote address, Muse is intended to support the next generation of spatial computing workflows enabled by visionOS 26. The device incorporates six degrees of...
iPadOS 26 App Windowing

Apple Explains Why iPads Don't Just Run macOS

Friday June 13, 2025 7:46 am PDT by
iPadOS 26 allows iPads to function much more like Macs, with a new app windowing system, a swipe-down menu bar at the top of the screen, and more. However, Apple has stopped short of allowing iPads to run macOS, and it has now explained why. In an interview this week with Swiss tech journalist Rafael Zeier, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that iPadOS 26's new Mac-like ...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday June 12, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
terminal macos tahoe

Apple's Terminal App Gets Colorful Redesign in macOS Tahoe

Monday June 16, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's Terminal app is getting a visual refresh in macOS Tahoe, and it's the first notable design update since the command-line tool debuted. The updated Terminal will support 24-bit color and Powerline fonts, according to Apple's State of the Platforms presentation at WWDC25. The app will also adopt the new Liquid Glass aesthetic with redesigned themes that align with macOS 26's broader...
iOS 26 Feature

Apple Seeds Revised iOS 26 Developer Beta to Fix Battery Issue

Friday June 13, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple today provided developers with a revised version of the first iOS 26 beta for testing purposes. The update is only available for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 models, so if you're running iOS 26 on an iPhone 14 or earlier, you won't see the revised beta. Registered developers can download the new beta software through the Settings app on each device. The revised beta addresses an...
apple watch ultra snow

6 Features Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Tuesday February 25, 2025 9:00 am PST by
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements. While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way. By the time the ...