Document Type
Article
Publication Title
International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction
Publication Date
2025
Keywords
smartwatch, keyboard, text-entry, fat finger, usability, security, screen size
Abstract
Entering text on a smartwatch is challenging due to the difficulty of tapping tiny keys. This study introduces a novel keyboard, Tap’nSwipe, to address the challenge. The keyboard features nine areas, each containing up to four characters. To enter a character, users swipe in a specific direction within the area containing the character, freeing them from precisely tapping on the target key. In addition, Tap’nSwipe leverages word predictions to enter words by allowing users to tap anywhere in the areas containing the target characters. The results of a user experiment show that Tap’nSwipe improves text entry accuracy and reduces error correction efforts when entering random character strings on a small smartwatch screen, with a marginal decrease in tying speed compared to QWERTY. Participants rated Tap’nSwipe higher than QWERTY in perceived character clarity, interaction precision, typing accuracy, typing efficiency, and ease of use. Participants also expressed strong interest in adopting Tap’nSwipe.
Funding Source
This work was supported by the NSF Foundation [Award No. 1917537], and Grants from the School of IT at Illinois State University. This article was published Open Access thanks to a transformative agreement between Milner Library and Taylor & Francis.
DOI
10.1080/10447318.2025.2490709
Recommended Citation
Lai, J., Zhou, L., Wang, K., & Zhang, D. (2025). Robust Text Input for Smartwatches: Compensating for Imprecise Tapping and Swiping. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2025.2490709
Comments
First published in International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction (2025): https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2025.2490709
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.