The T9 keyboard is not dead yet: here’s what you could still use it for in 2025

© Soumyabrata Roy/Shutterstock.com

The T9 predictive keyboard was invented to make typing easier on old phones that only had number keys and no QWERTY keyboard. With the advent of smartphones, the T9 became almost obsolete, but it never really went away. In fact, the T9 keyboard is still available on Android smartphones. On the dialing interface, if you want to search for “Romain’s” contact, you can type 766246 to quickly access it (below, a demonstration of how the T9 works). In 2024, Apple even updated its iOS operating system to integrate T9-based contact search. But what could really cause a comeback of the T9 keyboard is televisions.

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Indeed, the technology that was invented for small phones with physical buttons could well make text entry on TV screens easier. Currently, entering text for a search on a smart TV app can be a frustrating experience. Most remote controls only have directional keys that you use to move around an on-screen QWERTY keyboard. But this entry could be greatly facilitated thanks to a keyboard created by a company called Direction9 (present at CES in Las Vegas), which has adapted the T9 keyboard to the constraints related to text entry on televisions.

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The T9 on TVs, a genius idea ?

The Direction9 keyboard replaces the AZERTY keyboard with a numeric keypad on which each number is associated with 3 or 4 letters. And, for example, to type “Google”, the user will only have to use the numbers 46645. The T9’s predictive functionality will take care of the rest. In addition, since the cursor automatically returns to the center, the user only has to press one of the directional keys to access a number.

© Direction9

Of course, the T9 keyboard is not perfect. But using this system will save you, for example, from 'press the keys on your remote control several times to navigate from one letter to another on an AZERTY keyboard (we go from 26 letters of the alphabet to 9 numeric ones). For those who wish to test this new input method, Direction9 already offers an APK file that allows you to install its app on Android boxes.

• The T9 keyboard was created to make it easier to enter text on old phones that only have number keys
• But this old technology could well revolutionize the way we do research on our televisions
• Indeed, since remote controls generally only have directional keys, the AZERTY keyboard is not necessarily appropriate
• A company is offering a keyboard inspired by the T9 that would allow you to type faster

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