Now that smartphones have become our go-to communication and note-taking devices, the need to type quickly has become a priority for many. Whether it’s a requirement for your job or a skill that will help you at university or in an apprenticeship, I have some valuable advice for you.
Many people still automatically tap each letter on their phones, but there is a better way. I learned how to type crazy fast on my Android phone with one hack, and while it’s not a new feature by any means, I’ll teach you, too. Once you master this skill, your average words per minute will skyrocket.
How to type faster on your Android phone
This demonstration was done on a Google Pixel 8 running Android 16 and using Gboard as the default keyboard. After explaining how to use this hack, I will also explain how to use the Samsung Keyboard.
As long as you’re using Gboard on an Android phone running at least Android 8, you’re good to go. This “trick” is called swiping, sliding to type, or Glide Typing (in Gboard). The idea is that you don’t lift your finger for each letter of the alphabet, only for each word, which saves you a lot of time. Here’s how to slide your finger across the keyboard to type faster.
1. Tap the text box where you want to type on your phone.
2. Instead of tapping individual words, slide your finger without lifting it. Pause on the letters for a microsecond, then lift your finger when you’re done typing the word. Space can be added automatically when you lift your finger.
If you are a Samsung keyboard user, you will need to go to keyboard settings and turn on the keyboard Swipe mode before sliding your finger to type.
Swipe typing in Gboard is intuitive and intuitive
Gboard gets smarter over time, as does your swipe typing accuracy. As you swipe over letters, you’ll get word suggestions from Gboard. Over time, you can teach Gboard what your target word was by tapping the appropriate suggestion.
Swipe typing also works with words added to your dictionary, such as words, slang, abbreviations, or words in another language. They don’t have to be grammatically correct.
Even cooler is that you can swipe to type in other languages too! I tried it in Urdu on Gboard, and it works just as well as it does in English. Also, if you are using a Wear OS watch with Gboard, you can use this hack on your smartwatch.
I attract a lot of attention when I swipe-text in public, and people always want to know about it. I’ve had strangers ask me to teach them how to use this feature on the train!
It’s not a quick or easy trick right away; you may actually type a little bit at first. But once you get the hang of it, it’s very hard to go back to the “normal” way of typing on your smartphone.