Kiboard
An ambitious iOS keyboard for German grammar correction.
This project was the iOS counterpart to WriteRight. Unlike Android, where I can use a floating button across all apps, iOS requires building a complete custom keyboard to provide spelling and grammar corrections. This fundamental platform difference led to a much more complex undertaking.
The project was ultimately discontinued due to the immense complexity of building a full-featured keyboard from scratch, but the lessons learned directly influenced the creation of WriteRight for Android.
There's currently no good grammar correction app for German on iOS. Grammarly only works for English, leaving German speakers and learners without comparable tools. The few existing options don't provide a smooth experience—you can't just type and immediately get corrections.
The inspiration came from watching my girlfriend, a German beginner, struggle with the iPhone keyboard's suggestions. It would suggest completely wrong words, leading her to write incorrect sentences by following those suggestions. I thought this could easily be avoided with a proper grammar correction keyboard.
I decided to focus on the German-speaking market first—I'm very familiar with it, it's a large market, and there was a clear gap in available tools for German learners and people integrating into Germany.
Building an entire keyboard turned out to be way more work than I expected. Every feature that users take for granted becomes its own mini-project with unique challenges and potential bugs.
Emoji Integration
Including the full emoji set made the app crash. Had to use a compressed version, which still caused stability issues.
Multiple Layouts
Supporting different keyboard layouts because users have preferences, plus long-press functionality for special characters.
Swipe Typing
Modern keyboards let users swipe across keys to type—implementing this feature is extremely complex.
Dictionary Management
Finding and evaluating good dictionaries for word suggestions. Not all dictionaries are reliable, so extensive testing is required.
The name "Kiboard" is a clever pun. In German, "AI" is "KI" (Künstliche Intelligenz). So if you read the first part in German, it sounds like "keyboard," but it actually means something like "AI board"—hinting at the intelligent grammar correction functionality.
The complexity and bugs that caused crashes made me realize that building an entire keyboard was not the right approach. Every feature became its own major undertaking, taking focus away from the core grammar correction functionality.
This led me to pivot to Android with WriteRight, where I don't have to build the entire keyboard. Instead, I can create a floating button that shows corrections while letting users type with whatever keyboard they prefer. This approach is much more focused and technically feasible.
Not Available on App Store
The app is currently unfinished and not available on the App Store due to stability issues and the decision to focus on the Android approach instead.
While there is a tester program available for people who know me personally, I'm not actively developing it at the moment. All efforts are now focused on WriteRight for Android.
Lessons Learned
While Kiboard didn't reach completion, it taught me valuable lessons about platform constraints, feature scope, and the importance of focusing on core functionality. These insights directly shaped the more focused and achievable approach I'm taking with WriteRight.
See How This Led to WriteRight