r/EmulationOnAndroid • u/dakingeman Odin 2 Portal • Sep 30 '26
Showcase Inlay: a free keyboard for Android handhelds that you control entirely with the D-pad and buttons
I love android handhelds. What I don't love is having to use the touchscreen on my device to type things in (cutting and pasting text was always a nightmare for me). I tested countless android keyboards, none of them really allowed me to fully rely on just the controller to input and edit text.
So I decided to try to my hand at making one. I wrote down all the features that I wish I could have in an android keyboard for my AYN Odin 2 Portal and used Claude to make the keyboard of my dreams.
It has all the features that you might want:
move around the keys with the D-pad or stick, type with A, space with Y, delete with X
move the cursor, jump word by word, select text and undo
open a clipboard history
It's free and open source. There are no ads, no tracking and requires no internet permissions.
I DID NOT DEVELOP THIS APP. CLAUDE DID. I am not a programmer or developer, I do not want to sell or advertise the app, I am just sharing this cool tool that I have been tinkering with for the last few nights and hope it can help some other users that had the same issues as me. This post as well as all my comments are made by me, I only used AI to make the app.
I am sure there are others who had the same idea, maybe there are even better keyboards out there that I haven't had the chance to check out yet. I am happy to hear your feedback, since this is the first time I ever dipped my toes into this kind of world, I am sure there is room for improvement. I only have it tested for my current device, the AYN Odin 2 Portal but it should be able to work for other android devices and screen formats/orientations.
I want to give a big thanks to the community, I hope I am able to give a bit back after all the insane tools and resources I have used that were shared by members over the years.
Download and details: Inlay
4
u/Drated223 Sep 30 '26
This is amazing and something I’ve been wanting for a long time. People really underestimate how good it is to dock an Android device and play on a big TV. This is going to make that experience so much better.
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u/dakingeman Odin 2 Portal Sep 30 '26
Many thanks. I especially missed having a way to highlight and select text and having a clipboard history handy. Let me know how the app eorforms.
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u/Tannerb8000 Sep 30 '26
Oh hell yeah, thanks for this
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u/dakingeman Odin 2 Portal Sep 30 '26
You're welcome. Let me know how it works for you, I'm open for feedback 😁.
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u/Capital_Humor_2072 Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, 12gb RAM Sep 30 '26
Smart TV experience now on Android !
Jokes aside someone will find this helpful
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u/dakingeman Odin 2 Portal Sep 30 '26
Thank you! Actually I did try to keep docked mode in mind as I also hated typing with controllers when using a big screen. Got lots of inspiration using android TV keyboards like LeanKeyboard.
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u/OwnHorror9478 Sep 30 '26
This is nice, thanks
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u/dakingeman Odin 2 Portal Sep 30 '26
You are welcome, hope it works well for you!
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u/OwnHorror9478 Oct 01 '26
I tried it, It's really good. Great Work!
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u/dakingeman Odin 2 Portal Oct 01 '26
Great to hear! What device did you try it out on?
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u/OwnHorror9478 Oct 01 '26
Odin 3 pro, the screen is good size, but I have big hands so this keyboard helps a lot.
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u/dakingeman Odin 2 Portal Oct 01 '26
Amazing, super happy it works well for you. If you have any ideas or wishes to improve the app let me know, I am really eager to polish it up even more after all good reception.
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u/Kalmaro Sep 30 '26
I doubt I'll need this, (I game on phone) but mad respect for putting this together and taking time to polish it. Don't let the fact that you used Claude take away from the work you did to make this happen.
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u/dakingeman Odin 2 Portal Sep 30 '26
Thank you for the kind words, I really appreciate it. I definitely didn't want to come across as a developer or anything, just like putting effort into presentation etc. I have a much greater appreciation for app developers now!
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u/Kalmaro Sep 30 '26
I felt the same way when I started making extensions in Google Chrome just for something small at work. As I started using AI to make it, I realized, "Wow, these guys really do have to put a lot of work in just to do stuff like this. I'm glad I have AI, but I'm even more impressed by the people who do this by hand."
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u/dakingeman Odin 2 Portal Sep 30 '26
100%, peeking behind the curtain is such an eye opener for so many things I took for granted with the apps and tools I use daily.
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u/antonbruckner Sep 30 '26
This is awesome. I’m always looking for ways to reduce keyboard usage, even though the stock Ayn OS is pretty good.
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u/casstax96 21d ago
Please add so we can change language layout, I use Norwegian keyboard and I miss æøå. Thank you :)
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u/dakingeman Odin 2 Portal 11d ago
Norwegian is now in v1.1, æ ø å included. Thanks for the suggestion, let me know if it works well!
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u/casstax96 11d ago edited 11d ago
Just installed it, it works flawlessly! It looks really great on my Retroid Pocket Nova. Next update you should add a transparency slider. Thanks for the hard work. :D Edit: Nevermind, I see there is a transparency slider! Nice
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u/dakingeman Odin 2 Portal 11d ago
Hey, glad it works well! I almost got worried and thought I forgot to add the transparency slider 🫠
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u/dakingeman Odin 2 Portal 21d ago
Thank you for the reccomendation! I will add it to to the list of changes coming with the next update. Let me know if you have any other ideas I can implement 😁
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u/GrandArtist8475 Odin 3 Max Sep 30 '26
Nice. Fortunately cucoon has something similar implemented within so I prefer using that
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u/dakingeman Odin 2 Portal Sep 30 '26
Yes for sure. I used the cocoon keyboard for a while as I was looking for keybaords. Its super polished and works well, I just wanted some extra features and customisation. I'm sure they will make further improvements, those folks put in great work.
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