Android Co-Founder: Keyboards Will Be Gone in 20 Years

Megalith

Megalith

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Within 20 years, computer keyboards will be relegated to the technology dustbin, says Android co-founder Rich Miner: he and others believe that the way humans communicate with machines is undergoing a fundamental change. The keyboard—which dates back to the 1800s—will be phased out over the next couple of decades, except for some “legacy applications,” Miner argues. Touchscreens have already kicked off this shift.

The key methods will include voice recognition; “digital ink” (think stylus pens that enable you to write and draw on screens); and the ability for computers to understand facial expressions and gestures. These technologies already exist but are far from perfect. Miner believes they’ll continue to get better. Some example capabilities he mentions include holding up a hand to pause a video; software that digitizes and transcribes handwritten notes, even if the handwriting is so sloppy the writer can’t make out the words; and software that recognizes, from a person’s facial expression, that her or she is frustrated with an app—and responds accordingly.
 
You can't data mine from a keyboard without a keylogger. But, if it is a virtual keyboard on a tablet running on Android...
 
Probably not that far-fetched. I can see some old timers having the "from my cold dead hands" opinion, though.
20 years is a long time in the world of tech. Things we never imagined 20 years ago are reality...and some things we swore would die are still alive and kicking. It's always hard to predict what will stick and what won't. All I know is that alternative input tech seems to be improving in leaps and bounds at the moment.
 
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Unless he's talking about some kind of holographic interface (think Final Fantasy movie) or some kind of haptic body feedback, I'd say he's wrong.

Full on voice only input to a computer is a terrible idea if it is the only way. Just imagine everyone on the street/plane/bus/office screaming into their computers all day. Kill me now. It's bad enough I have to sit in a room full of people on the phone.
 
Megalith said:
Within 20 years, computer keyboards will be relegated to the technology dustbin, says Android co-founder Rich Miner
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Another self-important douche who likely only made this comment because he knew it would get his name on the front page of many news sites.

Touchscreens have already kicked off this shift.
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If 90%+ of the people using touch screens are typing away at virtual qwerty keyboards, does that really represent a shift away from the keyboard? As long as new generations are continually learning and becoming accustomed to that layout, keyboards aren't going anywhere.
 
I feel like they say this every few years, and they've been saying it for decades. Except voice recognition is horrible and flaky when it comes to understanding the extremely complex nuances of human speech, and probably always will be. Look at how few people use Siri or Cortana. It's so much easier and faster to just type what you want. It also gets fatiguing to talk constantly. Many people type faster than they talk and find it less tiring.
 
I doubt it. I actually haven't seen a touchscreen computer outside of a store since the 80's (besides phones and tablets, obviously). As for voice, as somebody else mentioned, there's no way people are going to be sitting in an office saying everything out loud. The only thing left is controlling the computer with your mind, but I pray I'll be long dead before that happens.
 
I'd wager you could find quotes from major tech figures in the 2000's, 90's, and maybe even the 80's, suggesting the same thing. I don't think they're going anywhere, but I also see no reason our need to engage them won't continue to diminish.

I already use Cortana for reading and responding to texts, with near flawless accuracy; it has no issues punctuating questions as such, without being specifically prompted to do so. It's quite remarkable what voice recognition is now able to glean from context.

Of course, it's still not perfect; a friend of mine who's running for local office invited me to join him for a sign wave, so I used Cortana to set a reminder. 4:30 rolls around and Cortana reminds me to go to the sine wave. lol, thanks Cortana.
 
LOL like I'm going to put fingerprints all over my screen. Or that voice input would actually work for everything. This guy is out of touch and/or was told to say something headline-clickbaitable. Well done, then.
 
Based on how absolutely shite my android touch-type performs (my fingers aren't THAT big, but I miss every third letter), coupled with a douche-level autocorrect (huh, don't know why it put "douche" in there), my android will be in the dustbin well before my keyboard gets there.

Speaking of which, thanks to [H] for turning me on to mechanical keyboards. Best invention...ever.
 
Well I still mistype stuff using my Android phone. Have to use iPhones for work and still mistype on those as well too
 
Its ok running apps without a keyboard, but how will you write code without one :whistle:
 
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Keyboards aren't going to be replaced with touch screens for 3 reasons.

#1 Touch screens are horribly inaccurate. There's a reason why when you type something the virtual keyboard tries to second guess what you're saying.

#2 No force feedback. Did you hit the correct key? Did you hit a key at all? This is a big issue with touch screens.

#3 PC gaming will still be around in 20 years, which means keyboards will also exist in 20 years.


Now if there was a way to control the PC with your mind...
 
Think of the general public - this is who he is talking about. It's already happening with phones and tablets. I'm not a futurist - but think he isn't too far off the mark.
Would anyone have thought that desktop computers would not be used in people's homes? The trend started in 2008/2009 with the iPhone. Now, people are expecting all of their content on their mobile device first. There was a huge drop in computer sales for the home - mobile devices are one of the culprits.
 
Blown 89 said:
No they won't. Can you imagine an office environment where everyone is talking to their computers? Keyboards aren't going anywhere.
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My exact thoughts. Unless it can type what I am thinking the keyboard isn't going anywhere, and it's damn sure not going to be replaced with touchscreen typing.
 
Coming here from a programmers perspective, there's no way on earth that keyboards will be phased out in 20-years. I can't reach 130~200 WPM on touch interfaces, I've tried. Also, being unable to recognize when a button has been registered and where the knobs on the f and j key are, are absolutely fundamental to typing fast.

He also keeps talking about software doing this-and-that, but who does he think is writing the software? They aren't using the methods described above, they need keyboards.
 
they are using head probes that pick up your thoughts and then make a mechanical hand operate by your thoughts. Once it's been developed enough and mass produced it will be the norm. I would not be at all surprised it they imbed this device into your skull - embed or die (or live outside society) because it will be used for everything from payments to you name it.
 
Domingo said:
Probably not that far-fetched. I can see some old timers having the "from my cold dead hands" opinion, though.
20 years is a long time in the world of tech. Things we never imagined 20 years ago are reality...and some things we swore would die are still alive and kicking. It's always hard to predict what will stick and what won't. All I know is that alternative input tech seems to be improving in leaps and bounds at the moment.
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I can type ten times faster and more accurately on a real keyboard.

If you ever see my post here where my Grammer is gawd awful and spelling even worse, then you know I typed it on virtual keyboard. Editing on it is an epic pain in the duckass too. God I can't even imagine trying to program and do engineering work without one.

This post alone took me over 5 minutes to type and then correct.
 
Unless a neural interface is underway which doesn't require surgery then the keyboard is here to stay. I detest touch screens and their so-called virtual keyboards and the voice activated stuff is just as bad or even worse -- and this is from a guy with a midwestern accent which should be close to the baseline. Talking to your computer seemed interesting in the original Star Trek but seems borderline retarded today. You could modify the keyboard by rearranging the keys to something more efficient like the Dvorak and create a new default layout to improve things but getting rid of the keyboard entirely just isn't going to happen unless there is something better to replace it.
 
steakman1971 said:
Think of the general public - this is who he is talking about. It's already happening with phones and tablets. I'm not a futurist - but think he isn't too far off the mark.
Would anyone have thought that desktop computers would not be used in people's homes? The trend started in 2008/2009 with the iPhone. Now, people are expecting all of their content on their mobile device first. There was a huge drop in computer sales for the home - mobile devices are one of the culprits.
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At home maybe, but that same general public also tends to go to work and there is nothing that can accomplish what a keyboard does for work/productivity. A lot of people simply don't need that at home though. When you are just sending out brief misspelled texts or watching youtube videos a full keyboard doesn't help much.
 
steakman1971 said:
Think of the general public - this is who he is talking about. It's already happening with phones and tablets. I'm not a futurist - but think he isn't too far off the mark.
Would anyone have thought that desktop computers would not be used in people's homes? The trend started in 2008/2009 with the iPhone. Now, people are expecting all of their content on their mobile device first. There was a huge drop in computer sales for the home - mobile devices are one of the culprits.
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General public maybe. But with all these kids in coding bootcamps and STEM being the way for people not to get automated out of a job, I don't really see keyboards disappearing from the workplace anytime soon.
 
scojer said:
Might be the "Legacy" applications mentioned.
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if by legacy application you mean every form of content creation using a computer ever made (and I'm including programming as a form of content creation). Keyboards are simply faster and easier to use than any touch interface ever designed. Touch is an analog for a pointer device, not a data entry or control device.

I've got an idea, lets remove the keyboards from all the android developers and see how they do....
 
If a Droid 5 (with a larger screen than the Droid 4...at least 5") came out tomorrow, I'd pick one up first thing.
 
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