Dive back into the nostalgia of the '90s with Retro Txt, the keyboard app that transforms your cutting-edge smartphone into a classic T9 cell phone. Remember the days when texting required a bit of skill, pressing '2' three times for 'c', and twice for 'b'? Retro Txt brings that memorable experience right to your fingertips, making every message a throwback adventure.
Why settle for ordinary when you can stand out? Retro Txt is perfect for those who miss the simplicity of the past or find modern keyboards too cramped for comfort. It's a breeze to use, offering the charm of retro texting combined with the convenience of your iPhone or iPad.
With Retro Txt, you get:
- A nostalgia-packed T9 keyboard that's easy to use system-wide.
- Advanced T9 predictive text.
- A variety of retro styles to customize your keyboard, ensuring it matches your unique taste.
- The ability to craft your own custom keyboards for that personal touch.
- A customizable T9 dictionary, making typing faster and more intuitive.
- Large buttons designed to accommodate all finger sizes, eliminating typos and frustration.
- Smart keypress technology: multiple presses on the same key produce different letters.
- A high-speed mode for those who've mastered the art of rapid texting.
- A dedicated number lock for switching between text and numbers effortlessly.
- Quick shortcuts for spaces, periods, and special characters, streamlining your typing experience.
Retro Txt is not just an app; it's a time machine for your phone. Compatible with both iPhone and iPad, it offers a seamless blend of the past and present. Whether you're texting, taking notes, or updating your status, Retro Txt makes every interaction fun and unique.
Get ready to Text Like It's 1999! Download RetroTxt now and add a touch of nostalgia to your digital life.
Some features require a one-time in-app purchase to enable.
I absolutely LOVED T9 “back in my day”, and this app is so close to how it was! It was incredibly nostalgic to use again. I do, however, wish that it was like the old T9 keyboards where it allow you to switch to “multi-tap” mode for individual spelling of words that isn’t in the typical “predictable text” options. Maybe I can’t figure it out despite having read the directions, but I can’t get the keyboard to allow for individual letters. I also wish it had the typical key that “set” a word in and then the word could be manipulated after rather than it deleting the whole word/changing the entire word again like the old T9 had. If you hit “>” then it would set the word. Removing the middle-of-typing blue highlight IYKYK 😂Overall I love the app!
Functional and sends you back to a different time
PokéTubaMaster
It truly feels like I'm texting on my first cell ever (Nokia 5160), yet here I am on a newer iPhone. A handful of bugs here and there (toggles not fully working, haptic not working), which does break some of the immersion (I submitted an email with feedback). Not all regular symbols — such as slashes — are accessible, but the guide in the settings does a great job in explaining the shortcuts that have been implemented for ease of use (such as long-press 0 to press return). Is it a perfect recreation of T9? No; it lacks a few nuances that the OG T9 phones had. But, it is a phenomenal recreation for the digital phone era and I love that about it. I don’t have the paid version (the bells and whistles aren’t as important to me as the overall utility), but if you like how the app runs and want customization bonuses, I feel like this app checks all the boxes. I think it being free and a labor of love is what sets it apart from other alternatives; I definitely appreciate the work and care that’s gone into this app, and I look forward to seeing where it goes from here.
Read the instructions!
Peter Schwammlein
This app is great, even the free version on its own which should have everything you need! Yes, you can type ?!@& and so forth. Yes, you can enter. Yes, you can turn predictive text on and off from the keyboard itself. Do not listen to the bad reviews mentioning these issues, as they simply have not explored the full capacity of the keyboard. My only thing is that the predictions are very assertive and I wish there was a simple button to cycle through them (such as #) rather than having to manually select from the above bar. Maybe this also exists and I haven’t found it yet…
Perfect plus I used the T9 keyboard to type this!
()[]{}555
I can finally experience texting from the late 90s! Back then there were no keyboards on phones to text so they used the phone’s keypad instead to text and each button has 4 or 5 characters on it! It was tricky since T9 texting today has the AI guessing and back then it did not. I am happy with this and is recommended.
# Out of Beta
Emoji suggestions are now out Experimental Features and everyone can now access them :)
# Bug Fixes
This update also fixes issues creating custom keyboards in iOS26
Version 2.9.0
The developer, Digital Tools Ltd, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Linked to You
The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:
Diagnostics
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The developer indicated that this app supports the following accessibility features. Learn More
