14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 10 might be the preferred operating system on the desktop, but it’s also a good choice for tablets and other devices where touch is the main input method.
As many people know already, Microsoft is betting big on touch for the future of Windows 10, so the operating system is being optimized for such input from one end to another.
One important feature of this experience is the touch keyboard, which allows users with tablets running Windows 10 to type whenever this is needed.
And today, Microsoft is announcing a major refresh of the touch keyboard that provides us with the highly anticipated update that this feature really needed.
“Some Insiders will start to see our new touch keyboard design rolling out to their PCs. The updated design includes a fresh aesthetic and many other small tweaks, including updated key sizes / layouts to optimize for typing comfort & accuracy. We have also done some work to help improve discoverability and usability of available features,” Microsoft says.
First and foremost, the most notable addition is part of the revamped emoji picker. Thanks to the integration of the emoji UI in the touch keyboard, users are now provided with GIF support, so they can include animations in their messages. Needless to say, this feature is only available in text boxes where GIF is supported, so for example, you won’t be able to insert them in a browser’s address bar.
On the other hand, if you’re chatting with someone on WhatsApp web, this new feature should really come in handy and make it easier to send them a GIF.
“We are bringing emoji search to the touch keyboard, so you no longer need to hunt through the different categories to find the one you are looking for. More so, you can also now search for animated GIFs. All accessible from our new expressive input button in the candidate bar. (For more – see our section above on evolving the emoji panel),” Microsoft explains.
The new touch keyboard comes with fresh keypress animations and sounds, as well as child key optimizations to type faster. An option to undock the keyboard has also been added, and users can now drag the keyboard around the screen by touching the gripper region at the of the keyboard. This is without a doubt a welcome touch, especially as previously, moving the keyboard on the screen was quite a struggle, so with the new gripper, it’s a lot more straightforward to do this.
Launching the touch keyboard when in tablet mode is an automatic process, as you only need to type a text field and Windows 10 takes care of the whole thing for you. On the other hand, you can also launch it by tapping its dedicated icon in the taskbar.
“The touch keyboard can also be invoked on any PC from the touch keyboard button on the taskbar, although you may need to enable the button. To do so, right-click or press and hold on the taskbar, then select “Show touch keyboard button” in the menu. Once the touch keyboard is open, try typing or shapewriting on the keyboard and let us know how it feels,” Microsoft notes.
One really cool feature that’s inspired by mobile devices concerns the cursor movement. Beginning with this overhaul, you can move the cursor left and right with gestures on the spacebar, an experience that is available even in Microsoft’s SwiftKey on iPhone and Android.
The new touch keyboard experience on Windows 10 is currently in testing as part of the Windows Insider program.