Trying Open-Source Keyboards

This year I tried several keyboards that offer relatively better privacy: Xiaopeng, Tongwen, Yuyan, and Gboard. Here is a brief account of the experience.

Xiaopeng

This is my main keyboard. Its strengths include:

  • It imports existing Wusong and other ZY configurations, covering most common words.
  • It supports uU character decomposition; typing uUweiwenchangnv, for example, produces the character li.
  • Its v mode enters special characters and symbols by initials, such as vfjz for “⸺”.
  • Swiping left on Backspace quickly deletes text.
  • Sliding on the Space bar moves the cursor; when candidates are shown, it can move among pinyin syllables for editing.
  • The official documentation recommends two voice-input apps that work alongside it. I tried them and they work, though there are drawbacks below.
  • Swiping up enters a key’s secondary symbol.

Weaknesses:

  • Candidate words cannot be browsed by swiping, and the first row of the drop-down list is misaligned with later rows.
  • There is no cloud dictionary (most open-source keyboards do not have one), so the match is sometimes not the word I want.
  • There is no predictive text, or at least I could not find it.
  • When editing pinyin, I cannot tap to place the cursor at a specific position; positioning by sliding on Space is not precise enough.
  • The punctuation set lacks em dashes and semicolons.
  • With voice input installed, switching between voice and key input triggers a redeployment, so input is not available immediately.
  • Voice input occupies the top-right keyboard-collapse button. I would prefer to invoke it by holding Space.
  • The theme is simple and not customizable. The developers announced theme customization, but six months later it has not appeared. This is an already niche Android keyboard in the niche 㞢 ecosystem, so support is unlikely to be substantial 😮‍💨

Tongwen

Strengths:

  • Customizable themes and keyboard layouts.
  • Common copy-and-paste functions, with seamless migration of 㞢 configurations.
  • Broad punctuation support and many punctuation features.

Weaknesses:

  • No voice input.
  • No toolbar: copying and pasting requires holding the relevant key, and there is no cursor-control interface like those on other keyboards. It is too minimal.
  • The preset themes differ so much from other keyboards that they take time to learn. Custom configurations receive breaking updates, so new versions may not support old themes; because the keyboard is niche, other theme authors are not very eager to adapt.
  • Stability is not ideal and it occasionally crashes, though this did not greatly affect my short-term use.

Yuyan

I installed Yuyan before. Its biggest advantage is that its layout resembles commercial keyboards such as Sogou, so switching requires little relearning.

For some reason I could not find its app icon (I do not remember whether I uninstalled it), yet it remained available in the keyboard switcher. Perhaps it stays resident in memory?

Strengths:

  • Works out of the box and covers basic input needs.
  • Modern theme that is easy to adapt to.
  • Space-bar cursor movement, though it cannot edit pinyin.
  • Convenient common punctuation input.
  • Adjustable keyboard size, one-handed mode, floating keyboard, traditional Chinese, a separate number row, phrase shortcuts, and Martian-language input.
  • A bottom toolbar for keyboard switching and the clipboard; it does not conflict with swipe-back gestures, and the taller key area feels more comfortable to hold.
  • A version with voice input is available and requires network permission.
  • Upward swipes enter secondary key symbols.

Weakness:

  • It cannot import other Rime configurations or use a custom dictionary, so you must adapt your habits from scratch.

Gboard

Big-company support really is different: it is feature-complete, with almost everything you are likely to use.

Strengths:

  • Good key layout and attractive themes.
  • Convenient common-symbol input.
  • Glide typing, handwriting, voice input, accurate pinyin and nearby-key correction, and sensitive voice recognition.

Weaknesses:

  • Secondary symbols require a long press rather than an upward swipe.
  • The keyboard area can be customized, but it leaves an empty strip at the bottom, wasting precious screen space. It would be better with keyboard-switch and clipboard buttons like Yuyan, or with customizable functions; Xiaomi’s built-in keyboard supports this.
  • There is no keyboard-collapse button; the top-right button is voice input, just as with Xiaopeng after voice input is installed.
  • Japanese candidates can be browsed by swiping left and right, but Chinese candidates cannot.
  • The dictionary is old and rarely updated, so everyday words do not feel natural, although a custom dictionary can be imported.