Comparison

Dasher Mobile vs keyboard2

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Dasher Mobile

This app offers a unique text input method where the display zooms into letters based on your pointer. It uses a language model to predict probable text, making common words easier to select. The interface is mode-free and can be trained on custom writing styles.

Highlights
  • Zooming interface for text entry
  • Predictive language model
  • Mode-free operation
  • Customizable writing style training
  • Efficient text selection
Features
Read full description

Dasher is a zooming interface. You point where you want to go, and the display zooms in wherever you point. The world into which you are zooming is painted with letters, so that any point you zoom in on corresponds to a piece of text. The more you zoom in, the longer the piece of text you have written. You choose what you write by choosing where to zoom. To make the interface efficient, we use the predictions of a language model to determine how much of the world is devoted to each piece of text. Probable pieces of text are given more space, so they are quick and easy to select. Improbable pieces of text (for example, text with spelling mistakes) are given less space, so they are harder to write. The language model learns all the time: if you use a novel word once, it is easier to write next time. A big advantage of Dasher over other predictive text-entry interfaces that offer word-completions to the user is that it is mode-free: the user does not need to switch from a writing mode to an "accept-model-predictions" mode. Another advantage is that it is easy to train the model on any writing style: simply load up an example file, then write away! More information can be found here: http://www.inference.org.uk/dasher/ Note that this is a port of the original Dasher for iPhone which no longer runs on iOS 11. This port has been funded by donations to the Ace Centre. To support this, ask for feature requests and help fund future development please see https://acecentre.org.uk/project/dasher-for-ios/

About

keyboard2

A privacy-focused keyboard app offering a familiar interface with advanced customization. Enjoy features like a separate number row, long-tap symbols, and diverse layouts. It also provides predictions, emoji access, and theme options to enhance your typing experience.

Highlights
  • Long-tap symbols
  • Separate number row
  • Multiple keyboard layouts
  • Access to special characters
  • Typing predictions
  • Emoji search and quick access
  • Customizable themes
Features
Read full description

keyboard2 is a private, fully offline keyboard. It looks and feels like the stock iOS keyboard, but does more, and nothing you type ever leaves your device. The keyboard uses no internet at all. TYPE SMARTER - Predictions, autocorrect and autocomplete in 34 languages. Built in, nothing to download - Swipe typing, with a trail you can style - Writing in two languages at once? keyboard2 works out which one you are using - Hold the space bar to move the cursor like a trackpad - Learns your words, on your device only - Smart punctuation and auto-capitalization MAKE IT YOURS - 100+ themes, filtered by colour so you can find one fast - Build your own theme: colours, outlines, corners and shadows for every part of the keyboard, plus a separate dark look. Share it as a code - Restyle every theme at once: borderless keys, outlines, flat keys, high contrast text - Build your own layout: choose the keys on each row and what a long press gives you - Own font, size and weight for keycaps, hints, popups, suggestions, the toolbar and the clipboard - Set key height, the gaps between keys and the height of the suggestion bar - Separate number row, with its own font and colours - Separate comma key - Toolbar with cut, copy, paste and clipboard history - Emoji search in 33 languages, and it still finds what you meant when you mistype - Long press a key for accents, haptics, key sounds and timings you can tune - A real, typeable preview in Settings, so you see every change as you make it KEEP YOUR SETUP - Save your settings and your themes to a file, and put them back on a new phone or after a reinstall - You choose where it goes: your iPhone, iCloud Drive, anywhere. It never comes to us - Optional automatic backups keep one file up to date in a folder you pick - Settings only. Never the words the keyboard learned, your clipboard or your emoji history PRIVACY FIRST - No internet access. Everything you type stays on your device - No tracking, no data collection - Predictions work offline from the first keystroke - Nothing leaves your device unless you save a backup yourself PREDICTION LANGUAGES (34) English, Estonian, German, Finnish, Dutch, Spanish, Swedish, Romanian, Hungarian, French, Italian, Afrikaans, Breton, Bosnian, Catalan, Czech, Esperanto, Basque, Galician, Indonesian, Icelandic, Lithuanian, Latvian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Slovak, Slovenian, Albanian, Tagalog, Turkish, Vietnamese KEYBOARD LAYOUTS QWERTY, QWERTZ, AZERTY, QZERTY, Colemak, Albanian, Azerbaijani, Croatian, Danish, Estonian, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, or one you build yourself FREE AND PREMIUM keyboard2 is free to download, and everything is unlocked for your first hour of typing. After that, basic typing stays free forever; premium features (predictions, swipe typing, most themes, custom themes, custom layouts, the toolbar and long-press alternates) need a subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase. Subscriptions start with a 7-day free trial, so you get a real chance to try everything before paying anything. Backing up your settings is free. Bought keyboard2 back when it was a paid app? You keep all premium features for free. Just open the app once after updating. We Love Feedback! All suggestions, questions and ideas are always welcome. Feel free to reach out to us at info@techamigos.ee. TechAmigos OÜ, Estonia

Screenshots

Dasher Mobile2 screens
keyboard24 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Dasher Mobile at 5.0 against keyboard2's 3.6. Dasher Mobile also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 17.0). keyboard2's advantage is ratings volume (16 vs 3). On price, ads, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. keyboard2 sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Dasher Mobile asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Dasher Mobile holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: keyboard2 has 16 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Dasher Mobile versus keyboard2: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDasher Mobilekeyboard2
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better3.6 (16 ratings)
Positive reviews—57.1% of reviews
Number of ratings316 — better
Update frequency—Every 8 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS9.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size38 MB148 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAce CentreTechAmigos

Customer experience

Dasher Mobile

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

keyboard2

All ratings16 ratings
Positive62.5%
Neutral6.3%
Negative31.3%
Written reviews21 reviews
Positive57.1%
Neutral14.3%
Negative28.6%

In-app purchases

None

Dasher Mobile

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

keyboard2

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly7 Days trial$0.991 Month
  • Premium Yearly$6.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime unlock$14.99

Questions

Is Dasher Mobile free?
Dasher Mobile is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is keyboard2 free?
keyboard2 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Dasher Mobile or keyboard2?
Dasher Mobile is rated higher. Dasher Mobile averages 5.0 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while keyboard2 averages 3.6 from 16 ratings.
Do Dasher Mobile or keyboard2 have ads?
Neither Dasher Mobile nor keyboard2 shows ads.

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