Once you get the hang of it, typing on your smartphone’ s touchscreen QWERTY keyboard is easy enough, but a company called Snapkeys thinks that it can make this kind of typing even easier. Snapkeys has designed a virtual keyboard that can’t actually be seen. This invisible keyboard will (according to Snapkeys) make typing on any touchscreen device simpler than using a QWERTY keyboard.

Through a sort of imaginary learning method, the Snapkeys keyboard uses your mind to allow you to type away. After users have learned how to use the Snapkeys keyboard, typing should be merely a matter of tapping the screen just right. From there, the intuitive keyboard will guess at what you’re trying to write. Sound confusing? Here’s how the Snapkeys keyboard will work.

A Memory System

Instead of viewing a keyboard every time you type on your device, you will simply have to tap the screen according to the letter that you want to type. At first, the Snapkeys keyboard will appear, but this doesn’t look like your average keyboard. Instead of a full set of keys, the keyboard has four distinct sections. Each section corresponds to the first letter of a word, and, further, how many “points” that letter has (you have to think in capital letters).

For example, an “X” has two points, so you would tap the portion of the Snapkeys keyboard that has two dots (each section has two dots, one dot, a circle or a curved line). The letter “C” has a sort of curve to it, so the curved line section would be tapped to write a word that begins with this letter (and so on). After users get the hang of each word section, the Snapkeys visual sections disappear, and users are left to tap on an empty screen. With the help of a keyboard that also tries to guess at each word you’re about to type, typing is mean to be a lot easier.

Will It Work?

Snapkeys has told press that it is in talks with various Android manufacturers. However, this reviewer isn’t so sure that the Snapkeys method will actually work. It’s not that the keyboard doesn’t make sense; it’s more that consumers will have to stop and think about each word being typed prior to typing. This method could become confusing if you aren’t sure whether a letter has a curved bottom or a circular bottom, for instance. The other problem is that consumers have been using QWERTY keyboards for so long now that it will be hard to change this mindset.

On the flipside of things, the Snapkeys keyboard will open up an entire screen space for typing. Instead of taking up half your smartphone screen with a keyboard, you will be able to see the whole screen while typing. For this reason, the Snapkeys method makes a lot of sense. It will be interesting to see if Snapkeys can successfully take over the standard QWERTY keyboard in the future. If this keyboard does come around to an Android phone near you soon, you may find that it’s easier to use than the standard option. At the very least, Snapkeys is onto something that allows users to be a lot more mobile.