In the era when touch-screen phones have not become mainstream, people have developed a working style using physical keyboard typing, and we have also formed muscle memory for many efficient shortcut keys.
In the early years, the BlackBerry was able to rise in the mobile office space because it used a full keyboard layout similar to a PC on the phone, so that users could easily handle their mail without the computer.
But now, for most people who are already used to the iPhone or Android touchscreen, the physical keyboard may no longer be the most efficient input method. The Guardian reported that , a new study proves that modern people’s touch screen typing speed is no slower than the PC keyboard.
This study came from a collaboration between the University of Cambridge in the UK, Aalto University in Finland and the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. They brought in nearly 37,000 testers from 160 countries to test typing on computers and smartphones. .
The results show thatWhile physical keyboards can achieve speeds of up to 100 words per minute, most people now only do 35-65 words per minute, and this rate drops every year.
But on touch-screen phones, the average speed of typing with one hand has now reached 29 words/minute. If you switch to two thumbs, the average typing speed per minute can be further increased to 38 words/minute, which is only 25% slower than the physical keyboard.
In mobile phone typing tests, the fastest people can even reach 85 words per minute, which is much faster than using a computer keyboard.
The study also found that the phrase predictions commonly used in input methods can hinder the user’s typing consistency, because people will take the time to judge whether the predicted words are correct; in contrast, automatic error correction can save some people. Repeated operation, it can make people play 9 words per minute.
This report also examines the differences in typing speeds among different age groups. Young people’s mobile phone typing speed is significantly faster than that of middle-aged and elderly people aged 40-50. The former average speed is 40 words/minute. Only 29 words/minute can be achieved.
Dr. Anna Feit, a researcher at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, also pointed out in the reportModern people spend a lot of time every day on social media and chat software. Some young people even use mobile phones to type, which prompts them to repeatedly tap the touch screen and eventually evolve into a skill. Self-communication is very different from the systematic physical keyboard training we receive on the computer.
She suggested that if people launch a special touch-screen typing training program, will our input efficiency on the mobile phone exceed the PC?
Recall that when we were young, we used the “Frog Crossing the River” game to familiarize yourself with the keystrokes and typing, and the answer to this question is really not necessarily.