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
112 months ago
And now, on the 4S, it takes as long just to load it!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mdelvecchio Avatar
112 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
112 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
112 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
112 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
112 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)