We recently had the opportunity to complete the SportSympathy keyboard for both iOS and Android.
At first glance, the goal seemed straightforward: deliver a functional keyboard that allows users to send small football- and rugby-inspired stickers. However, as we’ll explain, the project involved several technical hurdles that required careful consideration and innovative solutions.

Outlining the project – and the expectations!

We set out to build something that would truly meet the client’s expectations, while remaining a minimum viable product (MVP).
From the start, we anticipated a few challenges:

• Stickers are not always universally supported across apps. On Android, we knew we’d have to address compatibility app by app, based on each platform’s requirements. iOS brought its own set of challenges, with sticker behavior differing between apps.
• Since the number of stickers was quite large (5000+), we needed to ensure that the app remained lightweight. We also had to be mindful of potential memory issues caused by handling so many images.

Our solution

We developed two native apps — one for iOS and one for Android — with each keyboard behaving slightly differently to preserve the native feel of the platform.

We made sure both keyboards functioned as closely as possible to standard system keyboards and that sending stickers remained as smooth and intuitive as possible.

For developers looking to create their own keyboard apps, we’ll be publishing relevant tutorials to help you get started.
And if you ever need a hand building yours, don’t hesitate to contact us!