ISO/IEC 22121-1:2026

Information technology — Virtual keyboards user interfaces — Part 1: General guidance and requirements

This document provides general requirements and recommendations for all forms of virtual keyboards including audio keyboards, on-screen or projected keyboards. This document does not apply to physical keyboards that use real material keys or adaptable keys, which can be customized to user needs, for example with LCD display.

Technologies de l'information — Interface utilisateur des claviers virtuels — Partie 1: Recommandations et exigences générales

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 01-Jun-2026
• ICS: 35.180 - IT Terminal and other peripheral equipment
• Technical Committee: ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 35 - User interfaces
• Drafting Committee: ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 35 - User interfaces
• Current Stage: 6060 - International Standard published
• Start Date: 02-Jun-2026
• Due Date: 04-Apr-2026
• Completion Date: 02-Jun-2026

Overview

ISO/IEC 22121-1:2026 provides general requirements and recommendations for all forms of virtual keyboards, including audio keyboards, on-screen keyboards, and projected keyboards. As virtual keyboards become increasingly prevalent in information technology, this standard aims to promote consistency, accessibility, and functional adequacy across different software-based keyboard interfaces. This guidance is vital as users rely on virtual keyboards for communication, productivity, and accessibility, particularly in environments lacking traditional physical keyboards.

Key Topics

• Virtual Keyboard Types: Covers various forms such as on-screen (displayed on digital screens), audio (navigated by sound feedback), projected (on physical surfaces), on-air (in 3D/augmented reality), and braille virtual keyboards.
• User Interaction: Addresses methods for interacting with virtual keys, including touch, gestures, gaze, switch-based scanning, and pointing devices like mice or joysticks.
• Functional Requirements: Specifies requirements for:
  • Clear visual rendering of keys (characters and symbols)
  • Visual feedback on key press and focus
  • Adjustable visual enhancements, such as key size, color schemes, and contrast
  • Audio feedback for key focus and activation
• Accessibility and Adaptation: Recommends adaptations for various user needs, such as:
  • Augmentative and assistive communication (AAC) tools
  • Visual and audio enhancements for users with sensory impairments
  • Symbol-based layouts for cognitive accessibility
  • Adaptable layouts and prediction features for efficiency
• Customization: Encourages offering users options to personalize the keyboard appearance, feedback, key mapping, and layout, as well as the ability to save, load, and share customized configurations.
• Context of Use: Considers applications ranging from large document editing to quick password entry, multi-language switching, and environments where hands-free or minimal-contact interaction is necessary.

Applications

ISO/IEC 22121-1:2026 is applicable across a wide range of virtual keyboard user interfaces in the information technology sector. Practical uses include:

• Mobile Devices and Tablets: Standardizes the behavior and display of on-screen keyboards across smartphones and tablets, enhancing usability and accessibility for global users.
• Kiosks and Smart TVs: Ensures consistency for virtual keyboards accessed by touch, remotes, or limited input hardware.
• Assistive Technology: Provides a framework for designing keyboards used by people with motor, visual, cognitive, or speech impairments, promoting equal access.
• Wearables and Augmented Reality: Facilitates consistent and flexible input methods where traditional physical keyboards are impractical.
• Enterprise and Industrial Systems: Supports applications in workstations, control interfaces, or public terminals where physical keyboards are absent or temporarily inaccessible.
• Internationalization: Advises keyboard layouts and functionalities that accommodate multiple languages and scripts, crucial for globalized applications.

Related Standards

To further support the design, implementation, and harmonization of virtual keyboard interfaces, consider the following standards:

• ISO/IEC 9995 series: General principles, keyboard layouts, and graphical symbols for text and office systems.
• ISO/IEC 10741-1: Cursor control guidelines for text editing.
• ISO/IEC 11581-3: Standard symbols for pointers and icons in user interfaces.
• ISO/IEC 14754: Gestures and interactions for pen-based text editing.
• ISO/IEC 29138-1: Accessibility needs for user interfaces, especially relevant to inclusive keyboard design.

ISO/IEC 22121-1:2026 establishes a foundation for the development of future parts of the series, which will offer more detailed requirements for specific types and implementations of virtual keyboard user interfaces, ensuring that digital text input remains efficient, accessible, and adaptive in evolving technological environments.

Standards Content (Sample)

International
Standard
ISO/IEC 22121-1
First edition
Information technology — Virtual
2026-06
keyboards user interfaces —
Part 1:
General guidance and requirements
Technologies de l'information — Interface utilisateur des claviers
virtuels —
Partie 1: Recommandations et exigences générales
Reference number
© ISO/IEC 2026
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on
the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below
or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
CP 401 • Ch. de Blandonnet 8
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva
Phone: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
© ISO/IEC 2026 – All rights reserved
ii
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Conformance . 4
5 Virtual keyboards overview . 4
5.1 General .4
5.2 Virtual keyboard displays .4
5.3 Virtual keyboard manipulations .7
5.4 Virtual keyboards contents and outputs .9
6 Virtual keyboards adaptation for specific needs . 10
6.1 General .10
6.2 Adaptation for users .10
6.3 Adaptation for technical contexts .11
6.4 Adaptation for tasks .11
6.5 Adaptation for contexts of use.11
7 Requirements on basic functionality .11
7.1 Visual displays of either the character or symbol keys . .11
7.2 Visual feedbacks of the pressed key . 12
7.3 Visual enhancements . 12
7.4 Audio rendering of either the character or symbol keys . 13
8 Recommendations on additional functionality . 14
8.1 Prediction function . .14
8.2 Customization of the keyboard .14
Bibliography .15

© ISO/IEC 2026 – All rights reserved
iii
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are
members of ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical
committees established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical activity.
ISO and IEC technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international organizations,
governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the work.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described
in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types
of document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the ISO/
IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives or www.iec.ch/members_experts/refdocs).
ISO and IEC draw attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the
use of (a) patent(s). ISO and IEC take no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any
claimed patent rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, ISO and IEC had not
received notice of (a) patent(s) which may be required to implement this document. However, implementers
are cautioned that this may not represent the latest information, which may be obtained from the patent
database available at www.iso.org/patents and https://patents.iec.ch. ISO and IEC shall not be held
responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions
related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO’s adherence to the World Trade
Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
In the IEC, see www.iec.ch/understanding-standards.
This document was prepared by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology,
Subcommittee SC 35, User interfaces.
A list of all parts in the ISO/IEC 22121 series can be found on the ISO and IEC websites.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards
body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html and
www.iec.ch/national-committees.

© ISO/IEC 2026 – All rights reserved
iv
Introduction
Virtual keyboards are spreading exponentially; with the rise of mobile phones and devices, most users in
the world will have to use such interfaces for communication, work or leisure.
Virtual keyboards are mainly designed for text input but can offer various additional functionalities such as
navigation, text prediction or gaming.
Due to their virtual nature, they offer unlimited possibilities to interact through different ways. This can
generate trouble on the user side because from one device to another, and even in the same device, user
can be faced with different practices. But it is also a great opportunity for users with disabilities to get an
adapted keyboard to their specific needs, and also for standard users in a specific situation to find adapted
keyboards that fit well to their situation.
The ISO/IEC 22121 series consists of the following parts:
— ISO/IEC 22121-1 (this document) provides an overview of what virtual keyboards are. It describes virtual
keyboards such as audio keyboards, visual on-screen keyboards and tactile keyboards.
— ISO/IEC 22121-2 provides guidelines on the design of standard on-screen tactile keyboards that are
mainly focused on visualization: they are visually displayed, and keys are pointed at.
— ISO/IEC 22121-3 provides guidelines on the design of specific keyboards dedicated to specific interaction
modes that do not constrain user to point at keys and that can offer a wide range of displays.

© ISO/IEC 2026 – All rights reserved
v
International Standard ISO/IEC 22121-1:2026(en)
Information technology — Virtual keyboards user
interfaces —
Part 1:
General guidance and requirements
1 Scope
This document provides general requirements and recommendations for all forms of virtual keyboards
including audio keyboards, on-screen or projected keyboards.
This document does not apply to physical keyboards that use real material keys or adaptable keys, which
can be customized to user needs, for example with LCD display.
2 Normative references
There are no normative references in this document.
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at https:// www .electropedia .org/
3.1
on-screen keyboard
virtual keyboard (3.3) displayed on any type of screen
Note 1 to entry: On-screen keyboards are one specific type of virtual keyboards, probably the most common, that use
a screen to display a keyboard.
Note 2 to entry: This type of virtual keyboard can be used on personal computer screens, mobile phones, tablets, TVs,
kiosks and whiteboards.
3.2
physical keyboard
mechanical or electronic input device using an arrangement of buttons or keys
Note 1 to entry: Some physical keyboards can be adaptable (for example, using LCD screens instead of keys with
printed symbols and characters).
3.3
virtual keyboard
software alternative to a physical keyboard (3.2)
Note 1 to entry: Virtual keyboards include audio keyboards, visual on-screen keyboards (3.1), tactile keyboards and
projected keyboards.
EXAMPLE 1 Visual on-screen keyboards are available on touch screens.

© ISO/IEC 2026 – All rights reserved
EXAMPLE 2 Visual virtual keyboards can be projected on a table or whiteboard.
EXAMPLE 3 Speech keyboards used by speech-motor impaired users are vocalized and the user activates a switch
in order to select the adequate letter.
3.4
keyboard layout
physical, visual or functional arrangement of the keys on a keyboard
Note 1 to entry: Contrary to physical keyboards (3.2), on-screen keyboards (3.1) do not rely on mechanical keys and
printed/engraved labels; therefore, their layout can be changed conveniently by the user with the device’s user
interface.
Note 2 to entry: Some physical keyboards provide ways to change the visual arrangement of keys (for example,
physical keyboards with LCD/LED displayed keys).
Note 3 to entry: An on-screen keyboard layout may give access to one or multiple sets of characters.
Note 4 to entry: Keyboard layouts may be defined by national, regional or local standards.
3.5
focus
current selected row or column set of characters, or individual item
3.6
cursor
special indicator used for text manipulation to mark the active position
Note 1 to entry: ISO/IEC 10741-1 deals with cursor control.
Note 2 to entry: A cursor is not a pointer (3.7) icon, and both a cursor and a pointer icon can be available and visible at
the same time.
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 11581-3:2000, 4.1]
3.7
pointer
icon displayed on a screen that a user can move with a pointing device, such as a mouse, to select items
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 2382:2015, 2126058, modified — “” has been deleted. “symbol” has
been replaced by “icon”. Notes to entry deleted.]
3.8
scanning
successively moving a focus (3.5) to scan through items
3.9
tap
single consecutive touch and release actions on a touch screen device, typically it finishes shorter than
500 ms
Note 1 to entry: The touch action can be performed by any part of the human body (usually the fingers), a pen, stylus
or any other stylus-shaped object.
Note 2 to entry: ISO/IEC 14754 provides a definition for “tap” but this is restricted to pen-based systems.
3.10
prediction
software-generated set of characters, i.e. word, phrase or text, based on user typing that can be selected as
next input for faster typing
3.11
word prediction
generation of a set of words, of which one can be used next

© ISO/IEC 2026 – All rights reserved
3.12
arrow key
key used to move a cursor (3.6) or a focus (3.5) to left, right, up or down within and between user interface
objects
Note 1 to entry: An arrow key is indicated as one of left, right, up or down direction arrow graphic symbols (3.20).
3.13
end key
key used to move a cursor (3.6) or a focus (3.5) to the end of a group of user interface objects
3.14
enter key
key associated with an enter or return function
Note 1 to entry: An enter key is used to activate a focused item when it is used as a control of the virtual keyboard (3.3).
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 9995-9:2026, 3.5, modified — Note 1 to entry has been added.]
3.15
home key
key used to move a cursor (3.6) or a focus (3.5) to the beginning of a group of user interface objects
3.16
navigation key
key used to move a cursor (3.6) or a focus (3.5) within and between user interface objects
Note 1 to entry: The arrow, tab, space, enter, home, end, page up and page down are navigation keys.
3.17
space key
key associated with character U+0020 SPACE
Note 1 to entry: The space key can be used to activate a focused item when it is used as a control of the virtual keyboard
(3.3).
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 9995-9:2026, 3.12, modified — Note 1 to entry has been added.]
3.18
tab key
key used to move a focus (3.5) to the previous or the next user interface object
Note 1 to entry: A tab key associated with tabulation left or right function to move a cursor (3.6) during text input.
3.19
graphic character
character, other than a control function, that has a visual representation, normally handwritten, printed or
displayed
Note 1 to entry: Graphic characters with no visual representation can still be used, as per ISO/IEC 9995-7.
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 9995-1:2026, 3.1, modified — Note 1 to entry has been added]
3.20
graphic symbol
visual representation of a graphic character (3.19), a control function, or a combination of one or more
graphic characters or control functions
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 9995-1:2026, 3.15, modified — “… a combination of one or more graphic characters and/
or control functions” has been changed to “… a combination of one or more graphic characters or control
functions”.]
© ISO/IEC 2026 – All rights reserved
3.21
symbol
any graphic symbol (3.20) which is neither a letter nor a digit
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 9995-9:2026, 3.16, modified — Note 1 to entry has been deleted.]
4 Conformance
A virtual keyboard is in conformance with this document if it meets the requirements of Clause 7.
5 Virtual keyboards overview
5.1 General
A virtual keyboard is not a physical keyboard: it has no physical keys, but instead, virtual ones.
A virtual keyboard typically appears on the screen only temporarily when character input is required and
does not always require physical presence.
Virtual keyboards have functionalities similar to other physical keyboards. Virtual keyboards shall be
displayed and manipulated but also enable many different displays and manipulations and offer to generate
a wide range of outputs.
5.2 Virtual keyboard displays
Virtual keys are displayed to the user. They can be either tactilely or visually displayed but can also be
available through audio.
An on-screen or projected virtual keyboard can have virtual keys that are displayed on a screen or a board
in a 2D space. The support can be a simple screen or a board, but it can also be enriched with audio or tactile
information.
1)
Figure 1 shows an on-screen virtual keyboard (Microsoft BÉPO French virtual keyboard) displayed on a
non-touch screen, with visual feedback of the focus and with or without audio rendering or haptic rendering.
Figure 1 — On-screen virtual keyboard on a personal computer (PC)
1) This keyboard supplied by Microsoft is an example of a suitable product available commercially. This information is
given for the convenience of users of this document and does not constitute an endorsement by ISO or IEC of this product.

© ISO/IEC 2026 – All rights reserved
Figure 2 shows an on-screen virtual keyboard (BÉPO French virtual keyboard) displayed on a touch screen
interface.
Figure 2 — On-screen virtual keyboard on a smartphone
Figure 3 shows a projected virtual keyboard displayed on a table without haptic rendering or audio
rendering.
Figure 3 — Projected virt
...