app Interface - Bluetooth PC keyboard for Android tablets

[Slion 1,201]

Dear keyboard lovers here is something to try out while waiting for your Pro¹X.

Interface just launched. It's a revolutionary Bluetooth PC keyboard for Android devices. 
Currently only available on Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra.

It's very early days so the feature set is still limited but the potential is mind blowing. And yes, I too have been a long term fan of mechanical keyboards and I thought I could never do without them. I used a couple of ThinkPad USB keyboards for the last 20 years, even developed a custom driver for them. But then I saw the potential of devices such as the Tab S8 Ultra, which happens to be about the exact size as those ThinkPad keyboards. I just could not let it pass. My ThinkPad keyboards have been collecting dust for a couple of months and Interface keeps improving…

If you absolutely want to try it on other devices, I might be able to give you early access if you share your Google account email address with me.

Edited April 22, 2023 by Slion

[Hook 3,021]

So, let me make sure I understand  this.  This is an app that turns your Tab S8 Ultra into a touch screen BT keyboard for use with an Android phone.  Is there any special reason why it would work only with the Tab S8 Ultra?  I have an Original Tab S running a Lineage-based ROM that gives it effectively Android 11, but I admit I don't use the tablet much these days.  Having this running on it's 10.5" screen might be fun but if it depends on something from Samsung, there's nothing left on there. 😄

Since it is a software keyboard running on Android, I'm just trying to understand why it is exclusive to one device.  While I have enough mechanical keyboards around that this might not get heavy use by me, the change on the fly possibilities of a software keyboard interest me, especially if the haptics are good. 

[Slion 1,201]

> for use with an Android phone

It's primarily designed to work with Windows PC. In theory it could work with any host device supporting HID devices over classic Bluetooth, as opposed to Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). In practice, and solely because I'm filtering out Bluetooth devices when doing the scan, I don't think you can currently pair with an Android phone. However I could pair with an NVidia Shield for instance. Though Android specific keys are currently missing. I should add them at some point.

> Is there any special reason why it would work only with the Tab S8 Ultra?

None, it could work with any Android device supporting Bluetooth HID profile which was added in Android 9. Though some manufacturers may choose not to add support for it. In fact I have it running on my Pro¹ on Lineage. However if you really want to use this to permanently replace your keyboard you need a device that's about the size of a compact keyboard. The Tab S8 Ultra is perfect. In fact I even had to reduce the size of the keyboard otherwise it would be larger than what your are used to. Thus the black bars on either side on the screenshot above. I reckon it would be great on the Tab S8+ too. I would just need to adjust the layout a bit. Remove the black bars and maybe reduce the height of the trackpad by one row. Trouble is I don't have a Tab S8+ so it could be a while until I get around it.

For now and until I'm further along in development I rather support a very limited set of devices on which I can guarantee a premium experience.

>  Having this running on it's 10.5" screen might be fun

There is special layout template that loads on the Pro¹ and Tab S6. Though I would not consider actually using it as a daily driver. Too small.
I reckon that's the one that should load on your 10" tablet.

 

>  the change on the fly possibilities of a software keyboard interest me, especially if the haptics are good. 

Yeah so much potential. Still working on improving the haptics. Right now it relies too much on your device built-in configuration. Here have another screenshot 😁

Edited April 22, 2023 by Slion

[Hook 3,021]

I did "pre-order" it, so the Play Store does think it's compatible with my tablet.  Then again, the Play Store seems to thing your app is a game.  😄 

[Slion 1,201]

4 minutes ago, Hook said:

I did "pre-order" it, so the Play Store does think it's compatible with my tablet.  Then again, the Play Store seems to thing your app is a game.  😄 

Interesting, so it looks like everyone can register for it. Even though I may never release for those devices 🤣
It's already available for Tab S8 Ultra and only for those. I wonder if the device restriction applies to beta testers maybe not.
It does not apply to internal testers so much I know, but internal testers need to be registered manually using Google account email address.
 

[Slion 1,201]

I've created an open beta channel. Soon you should be able to register as a beta tester, or maybe not depending on how Google Play manages device restrictions.

[Slion 1,201]

The beta is live. If you still can't install the app after registering for the beta then the only way we can do this is for you to send me an email address from a Google account you want to use. You could create one for that purpose or just use an existing one.

[Hook 3,021]

I've been fiddling with this off and on and it is really pretty nice.  Surprisingly nice.  The haptics are one key to this-- they really help a touch screen keyboard, the vibration standing in for feedback, so the more a tablet has good vibration the better.  It helps to go into accessibility settings on my tablet and change "touch and hold delay" from the default "short" to "long."  This reduces keys being accidentally typed just because your fingers are not quite steady passing over them.

I have been mostly using the US QWERTY.  I looked quickly at US International, but I have to figure out how to use the third symbol layer.  :D. I would love this layout because it would give me access to the few symbols I use in my writing-- If I could assign an em-dash to one of the keys, it would be perfect.  One thing you might consider, since this is for Windows users, is having a US layout which puts a numpad/ edit pad on the reduced layout, taking advantage of the space created by the touch pad.   I have a weird little mechanical keyboard that does a version of this  and it is wonderful because I can do quick Alt-key codes for symbols. (see pic attached)

This is the fine use of my old 2014 Samsung Tab S, which does okay limping along with a Lineage based Android 11 ROM called ccDroid.  The screen is a nice size for a keyboard and this app seems to preform well. 

As a Windows only keyboard, it would be of limited real use to me.  I only use one Windows laptop and I don't put it up on a big screen (which I assume is the real value of this keyboard-- sitting somewhere working on you Android tablet and want to switch to that Windows computer across the room without getting up and going to that computer). Or to use a Windows tablet when it doesn't have a keyboard.

However, I'm enjoying testing it and will continue to plonk on it and get back to you if I think I discover something that's I think might be helpful.

[Slion 1,201]

> I looked quickly at US International, but I have to figure out how to use the third symbol layer.

Try Alt Gr. On the roadmap there is a WYSIWYG feature that should help with that. The static label display could also be improved using colour coding.

Edited April 28, 2023 by Slion

[Slion 1,201]

16 hours ago, Hook said:

As a Windows only keyboard

It's not. Though it's true it has been mostly tested on Windows. Should work just fine on Linux though. It's just an HID keyboard.

[Slion 1,201]

16 hours ago, Hook said:

the vibration standing in for feedback

I ought to make haptics more configurable. ATM you only get what your device offers.

[Hook 3,021]

7 hours ago, Slion said:

It's not. Though it's true it has been mostly tested on Windows. Should work just fine on Linux though. It's just an HID keyboard.

Oh yes, I don't know why it didn't work the first time I tried with my Thinkpad X230 running Manjaro.  Works fine now.  What was weird, though, and possibly a coincidence, is that I lost my sound feedback when I connected to Linux, When I repaired with my Windows Thinkpad, the sound was still gone.  I had to reinstall your app to get the sound back.  Have no idea what happened there.  Will run more tests to see a)if it keeps happening.  b) is it my tablet doing something funny and not your app (likely) c)if there is any pattern.

Made me realize how important BOTH the sound and vibration feedback are.

[Hook 3,021]

7 hours ago, Slion said:

> I looked quickly at US International, but I have to figure out how to use the third symbol layer.

Try Alt Gr. On the roadmap there is a WYSIWYG feature that should help with that. The static label display could also be improved using colour coding.

For the life of me I can't figure out how to trigger 3rd and fourth layer symbols.  I've tried holding separately and in various combinations Alt GR, Ctrl, Alt, Fn and shift.   Lol.  It is likely user error, but clearly I'm missing something or my tablet is incompatible in some way.

[Slion 1,201]

3 hours ago, Hook said:

For the life of me I can't figure out how to trigger 3rd and fourth layer symbols.  I've tried holding separately and in various combinations Alt GR, Ctrl, Alt, Fn and shift.   Lol.  It is likely user error, but clearly I'm missing something or my tablet is incompatible in some way.

Ho yeah, you need to change the layout in Windows or Linux too. Actually the layouts from Interface were extracted from Windows so there could be slight differences when used on Linux. Though it's all standardised so in most cases it should match exactly.

At some point I might get around implementing a companion app for Windows that could take care of such things like keep the layouts in sync.

Edited April 28, 2023 by Slion

[Slion 1,201]

The app should soon be available on virtually any devices including the Pro1. The keyboard pass through seems to be working really well, at least on Windows PC. May have to put a bit more work to provide Android specific features when connected to a TV or streaming box for instance.

On Pro1 you will be able to use it with the keyboard open or closed. With open keyboard the screen serves mostly as trackpad.

All you need to do is match the keyboard layout settings with the host device and the keys are translated properly providing that they are available on the host keyboard layout. Only dead keys don't work so well yet.

So you can use a QWERTZ Pro1 and connect it to an host with a QWERTY layout and all should still work just fine.

[Slion 1,201]

Release v0.6.0:

📱Soft keyboard mode
⌨️Hardware keyboard passthrough
🔊Finer key volume adjustment
🖱️Fix trackpad cursor lags and jumps
🐁Smaller mouse buttons
🔢Numpad and Alt codes: Fn + [Alt +] digits
🌐Remove device distribution restrictions

Now available on Google Play.

Edited June 10, 2023 by Slion