How to Disable QuickType in iOS 8

Apple introduced a new feature called QuickType in iOS 8, providing users with suggestions for their next word as they type. However, if you’re not a fan of the feature, here’s how to disable it.

QuickType was one of the big features that Apple touted when it first revealed iOS 8 back in June of last year, and it essentially gives users the ability to type faster by learning your typing habits and suggesting possible words as you type.

For instance, if you’re typing a particularly long word like “philosophical,” once you start typing it in, QuickType will eventually bring up the word in the area right above the keyboard. From there, you can just tap on the word to have it automatically typed in for you.

However, while many users find QuickType to be useful, not everyone really finds it beneficial in the long run, and it takes up precious screen real estate that could be used for other things, which is why many users could find it more productive to disable QuickType altogether.

Here’s how to disable QuickType on your iPhone or iPad in iOS 8.

How to Disable QuickType

If you find iOS 8’s QuickType feature to mostly just be an annoyance as you’re typing out text messages, just follow these simple steps:

• Open up the Settings app and navigate to General > Keyboard.
• Scroll down and find where it says Predictive.
• Tap on the toggle switch to the right of Predictive to turn it off.

That’s all there is to it. From now on, you won’t have word suggestions pop up, and you’ll get some of your screen real estate back.

However, keyboard shortcuts can still be useful, and you don’t have to have QuickType enabled to have your own keyboard shortcuts (also called text expansion). Luckily, you can have keyboard shortcuts enabled without them interfering like QuickType does.

Text expansion involves typing in a short keyword and having it automatically type out a long piece of information or word that corresponds to that keyword. It’s a lot like a Harry Potter spell, where you say some magical words and then, poof, something magical happens. Except with text expansion, it’s less magical and more practical.

For example, I could make it so that whenever I type in “eml” on my iPhone keyboard, it’ll automatically spit out my email address in the text box, that way I don’t have to type it out manually. This saves a ton of time overall, and it’s way more convenient than having to type everything out by hand every time, especially if there’s something that you type out every day, like canned responses to emails.

If you didn’t already know, iOS has a built-in feature for text expansion. It’s rather limited compared to dedicated apps that you can download and install, but it’s a great place to start in order to get a feel for text expansion.

Simply open up the Settings app and navigate to General > Keyboard and open up the Shortcuts section. Tap on Add New Shortcut… to start setting up phrases of your own. In the Phrase text box, type in the word or phrase that you want to pop up when you type in a short keyword or abbreviation. Then, type in that keyword or abbreviation in the Shortcut text box. Once that’s done, tap on Save in the upper-right corner and you’re done.