Products · Pattern or everyday thing
Virtual keyboards
Raised as a usability problem by 12 people on Hacker News over 17 years (2010–2026), in 13 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads in the last 5 years.
Every issue, all time, most people first
Typing on virtual keyboards is less accurate without tactile feedbackUnreviewed
20102026- Typing on a flat screen keyboard lacks tactile feedback, so it is harder to type well2026-01-29
- Touch typing on flat glass keys produces many errors, lacking tactile feedback2021-04-01
- Virtual keyboard is imprecise and hard to type on with large thumbs2021-02-02
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 13 complaints
- Typing on a flat screen keyboard lacks tactile feedback, so it is harder to type well2026-01-29
- On-screen keyboard covers half the screen, so inline fields get disrupted and users prefer modals2025-12-21
- Keys too small to tap accurately, causing repeated typing mistakes2023-09-24
- Typing needs too much attention and has low accuracy2022-06-21
- Touch typing on flat glass keys produces many errors, lacking tactile feedback2021-04-01
- Virtual keyboard is imprecise and hard to type on with large thumbs2021-02-02
- Simulated QWERTY typing in VR is worse without tactile feedback2020-03-02
- Typing on virtual keyboards is much less accurate without tactile feedback2017-11-03
- Virtual keyboard on web pages is awful to use on a phone2017-07-29
- Text editing on touch screens is hard because the virtual keyboard gets in the way2017-02-16
- Touch typists can't feel key actuation and risk accidental cursor moves from resting thumbs2015-05-02
- Virtual keyboards are small, eat screen space, and make complex passwords hard to type2013-08-22
- Switching modes for symbols and numbers breaks flow and makes typing painful on touchscreens2010-10-23