Shopping around for a good Android keyboard can be frustrating. While most of them have many of the same basic features, some are really lacking when it comes to themes, customization, and just plain fun! Redraw Keyboard for Android is one that has all of this and more. Better yet, it may just become your new favorite keyboard.
In a nutshell, I’d describe Redraw Keyboard as an advanced keyboard app and game all in one. This is because it also connects and links to your Google Play Games account which allows you to earn achievements and gold coins. These gold coins are important because they’re used to purchase themes, stickers, fonts, and more in the Redraw Store (more about that below).
With a ton of themes to choose from, over 1,000 Emojis, and plenty of sticker packs, here’s what makes Redraw Keyboard worthy of becoming your new default.
This is a sponsored article and was made possible by Redraw Keyboard. The actual contents and opinions are the sole views of the author, who maintains editorial independence, even when a post is sponsored.
Installing and Setting Up Redraw Keyboard
Installing Redraw Keyboard is really simple. It’s available in the Google Play Store and is free to download.
Just like any other keyboard app, after installing you’ll need to activate it and then choose it as your default/active keyboard. The app will walk you through this, after which you’ll be directed to the Store.
Shopping and Customizing the Keyboard
Redraw Keyboard has its own Store full of themes, stickers, wallpapers, fonts, and sounds. I was surprised to see so many different themes to choose from. I usually use SwiftKey, and I’m often disappointed by their small selection and lackluster themes, so Redraw’s selection was a breath of fresh air to me.
It’s All About the Coins
One thing to note before you start shopping around is that everything costs coins to purchase. Themes are the highest with the majority of them being 200 coins (although there are some as high as 500 coins). Sticker packs are 50 coins, while wallpapers, fonts, and sounds are all 10 coins.
I’m not a huge fan of the coin concept, but it’s better than having to pay cash. Coins are pretty easy to earn as long as you’re actively using the keyboard. Plus, you’ll get 1000 coins right from the start.
From there it’s up to you to purchase or earn coins by unlocking achievements. You can earn free coins every day just by opening the Redraw Keyboard app and tapping on the little treasure chest at the top-right corner of the window.
Under Achievements in the menu you can see what you’ve completed and claim coins for those unlocked achievements. You can also see the things that you haven’t completed yet and see how much you’ll earn for each one. This is great if you’re running low on coins because you can quickly find something to complete and claim.
Creating the Perfect Theme
Whether you want something bright, colorful, neutral, or dark, you’re sure to find something that you like in the Store. If not, then you can create your own theme instead. That’s where the wallpapers, fonts, and sounds come into play.
You can create one custom theme for free, and after that it will cost you 200 coins to create additional ones.
The customization options aren’t too extensive but enough to satisfy your creative needs. You can customize everything from the keyboard background to the color, shape, and transparency of the keys. You can also change the font type for the keys as well as the size of the font and the sound the keys make.
Although I love the selection of fonts, I will admit that the change in font size is pretty minuscule. Just looking at the above image with the smallest available font compared to the largest available font, you really can’t see much of a difference.
Thankfully, a difference is better seen when adjusting the height of the keyboard, as you can see above. This also helps to increase the font size, which is great if you don’t mind the taller keyboard height.
Stickers for Everyone
If you use Facebook Messenger, then you’ll already be familiar with stickers. They’re small images and characters (or larger emoticons, depending on how you look at them) that can be used to express an emotion or respond to messages without words.
If you’re short on time, it’s often easier to send a heart/love sticker to that special someone instead of typing out “I love you.” On the other hand, if you just can’t put something into words, a sticker (or Emoji) can often “say” it best.
Although not as large of a collection as themes, Redraw Keyboard has a nice assortment of stickers. Since I’m an animal person, I fell in love with “Duke the Dog” yet was sad to see that there’s no bunny theme. Stickers appear in the same area as Emoji, so they’re really easy to insert into a message.
Flawless Typing and Swiping
Typing with Redraw Keyboard has been a great experience. Thanks to some Typing customization options in Settings, you can get things just the way you like them. For instance, I like having word predictions as well as Emoji predictions to make it easier to replace words with Emojis when typing. This is one of my favorite features in SwiftKey, so I’m happy to see it in Redraw also.
Redraw does a great job of predicting the correct words. For me, it’s on par with SwiftKey and much better than Android’s default keyboard.
If you enable auto-correct, it will also automatically correct mistyped words. While I sometimes find this feature annoying, it’s very easy to turn on and off right from the keyboard. You can also enable a numbers row on top of the keyboard if you want to be able to type numbers a lot more quickly – instead of holding down a letter to get to them.
If you are a fan of swiping (or gesture typing), Redraw has this as well, and it can be enabled or disabled as desired. Voice input is another option that can make things quicker and easier for you.
Lastly, the Instant Translate feature can translate whatever you type into another language (over 50 to choose from) with the tap of a button. It does cost money to get this feature, though.
As a new user, you can get it free for one day and then pay $0.99 for 90 days or just pay $1.99 to get it free for life. I think that’s pretty affordable and especially useful if you want to communicate with someone who speaks another language.
Final Thoughts
Not all Android keyboards are created equal, and I’ve tried out a handful that just didn’t make the cut. However, I do find Redraw Keyboard worthy of being my new default keyboard. It has many themes that I really like along with the option to create my own. Plus, all of the features I’m used to and love are here.
Let’s face it, though, this keyboard isn’t for everyone. If you’re someone who likes a basic keyboard that just …. types, Redraw isn’t for you. However, if you like a fancy, highly-customizable keyboard with plenty of Emojis and stickers to add a little fun to your messages, Redraw is a great choice.
Redraw Keyboard for Android
Charnita has been a Freelance Writer & Professional Blogger since 2008. As an early adopter she loves trying out new apps and services. As a Windows, Mac, Linux and iOS user, she has a great love for bleeding edge technology. You can connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn.
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