AI keyboard for iPhone

Last updated: 20 September 2026

The short version. An AI keyboard on iPhone is a third-party keyboard you install from the App Store and switch to with the globe key. It replaces the system keyboard, so its writing tools work inside whatever app you are already in — Mail, WhatsApp, Slack, Instagram — without copying text into a chatbot and pasting the result back. Keyda is one; it adds rewriting, tone changes, grammar fixes, translation, voice typing, on-device AI models and bring-your-own-key support, and it needs iOS 17 or later.

What an AI keyboard actually changes

The workflow it removes is the copy-paste loop. Without one you write a message, leave the app, open a chatbot, paste the text, ask for a rewrite, copy the result, switch back and paste again. An AI keyboard puts that where the cursor already is: you select the text, pick what you want done to it, and the replacement is typed in place.

That is the whole category. What differs between keyboards is which models they use, whether anything runs offline, whether you can use your own AI account, and what happens to the text you type.

What Apple allows, and what it does not

These are platform rules, not limitations of any one keyboard, and they are worth knowing before you judge any iPhone keyboard against an Android one.

  • A keyboard cannot use the microphone. iOS does not permit any third-party keyboard to record audio from inside another app. Keyboards that offer voice typing do the recording in their own app and hand the finished text back — which is why Keyda opens for a few seconds when you tap the mic, then returns you to where you were.
  • Network access requires Full Access. A keyboard that has not been granted Full Access cannot reach the internet at all, so any cloud AI feature is off until you grant it. On-device features keep working either way.
  • Password fields are off limits. iOS switches to the secure system keyboard for password entry. No third-party keyboard sees what you type there.

Setting up Keyda on iPhone

  1. Install and sign in. Download Keyda from the App Store. It requires iOS 17 or later.
  2. Add the keyboard. Open Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards and add Keyda.
  3. Choose Keyda. Press the globe key in any app and start typing.

Grant Full Access from the same screen if you want the cloud AI features; without it, the on-device models and the typing features still work.

What Keyda does at the cursor

  • Rewrite and tone. Turn a rough line into a professional, friendly or shorter version in place.
  • Grammar and spelling. Fixes applied to what you already typed, not just predicted as you type.
  • Reply in your own voice. First-person replies drafted from the conversation you are looking at.
  • Translate. Including Hindi transliteration — type "namaste" in English letters and get नमस्ते — and Hinglish-aware autocorrect that stops "bhai", "kya" and "nahi" being corrected into the wrong English word.
  • Voice typing. Dictation that works offline, though recognition is noticeably more accurate online.
  • On-device models. Gemma 3n and Gemma 3 1B run entirely on the phone — no network, no token cost, no rate limit.
  • Your own API key. Free on every account. See the BYOK page.

What it costs

The app is free. Bringing your own API key is free on every account with no plan, no trial and no card, and so are the on-device models. The paid plans exist for people who would rather not manage a key: Lite includes 200 cloud AI requests a day, Pro includes 1,000 requests and 500,000 tokens a day, both resetting at 00:00 IST. Full quota detail is on Models & limits.

Questions people ask

Does an AI keyboard see everything I type?

Keyda does not log your keystrokes. Text is sent to an AI provider only when you ask for something — a rewrite, a translation, a reply — and never for ordinary typing. Password fields are handled by the iOS secure keyboard, which no third-party keyboard can read. What is kept, and for how long, is set out in the Privacy Policy.

Why does Keyda open for a moment when I use voice?

Because iOS does not permit any third-party keyboard to use the microphone from inside another app. It is a system-level boundary that applies to every voice keyboard on the App Store. Keyda records in its own app for a few seconds, transcribes, and hands the text straight back to where your cursor was. On Android, where the operating system permits it, dictation runs inside the keyboard with no app switch.

Do I have to grant Full Access?

Only for the cloud AI features. iOS blocks all network access for a keyboard without Full Access, so without it Keyda cannot reach a model in the cloud. Typing, themes, snippets, smart dates, maths and the on-device AI models all work without it.

Does it work on iPad and Mac too?

Yes. The same account covers iPhone, iPad, a Mac app and a Chrome extension, and your notes, documents and AI sessions sync between them. See the download page.

Can I use it without an internet connection?

Yes. Lite and Pro include on-device models that run entirely on your phone. Typing, themes, snippets, clipboard, notes, smart dates and maths work offline too, and voice typing works offline with lower accuracy than online.

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