How To: Messaging Just Got Way More Fun with GIF Keyboard for iOS 8

Third-party keyboards have become a game changer for iPhone owners since their integration in iOS 8. And while the major players from the Android realm—Fleksy, SwiftKey, Swype—already have their keyboards on the iOS App Store, their products are relatively standard fare.

And while having the ability to swipe-type and use predictions is both functional and intuitive, there really hasn't been a keyboard that's blown my mind. That was until the guys at Riffsy, Inc. dropped their GIF Keyboard.

GIF Keyboard is looking to take iOS typing to another level, offering you quick access to animated GIFs directly from the keyboard. Before, the fastest way to send a GIF via a message was using the Gifit app.

With the GIF Keyboard, you can search through millions of GIFs by entering a keyword or browsing through popular and trending ones. Once you find the GIF you're looking for, just hold down on it, then copy and paste it into the text box.

When you see a volume icon on the top left corner, that "image" is actually a short video (with sound), so when you paste it, you'll actually be sending a video that the receiver will need to hit play on, while GIFs will loop automatically.

The various icons at the bottom of the keyboard allow you to access your most used GIFs, scour through GIF categories, view popular and trending GIFs, find short music videos, and search for a specific topics.

To switch to a regular keyboard, tap on the Aa icon on the far right. This will bring up a normal keyboard, which personally is a bit too clunky to use, but does the job when you need to resort to words. Or, you could hit the globe icon to go back to the stock keyboard (or another one).

With millions of GIFs at your disposal, Riffsy's keyboard is a refreshing and, at least for me, practical way to communicate. I mean, who needs words, right? Except my next article to be nothing but images and GIFs...you've been warned.

Share your thought on GIF Keyboard with us in the comments below as well as on Facebook and Twitter, which is a great platform for using this keyboard, by the way.

More iOS 8 Tips...

To see what else you can do in Apple's latest mobile operating system, check out the Coolest Hidden Features of iOS 8, as well as the Best Hidden Safari Features, Top Hidden Features in Messages, Biggest Privacy-Related Settings You Need to Know, and our other iOS 8 tips.