Fact · Typing and writing speed
38.02words per minute
Typing with two thumbs was the fastest phone technique in the study, at a mean of 38.02 words per minute.
Checked against its source on October 16, 2026
In the source's own words
“this was the fastest way to enter text (M = 38.02, SD = 13.1, p < 0.001 in comparison to all other groups)”
How do People Type on Mobile Devices? Observations from a Study with 37,000 Volunteers, Kseniia Palin et al., Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Services (MobileHCI 2019), 2019, Results: Hands and fingers.
Open the original- What it measures
- Posture was reported by participants. Most participants used two thumbs.
- What it does not show
- The group means are close to the overall mean of about 36 WPM, so the difference is a few words per minute.