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SwiftKey details its upcoming keyboard for iOS 8

SwiftKey has long been known as one of the most popular third-party keyboards for Android, but the company kept no secrets earlier this year in announcing that the app would be making its way to Apple’s platform with the release of iOS 8. Today, the company has shared some more details about its features, and given us a first-look at the swipe-to-type entry method running on the latest build of iOS.

The keyboard, as you’re likely familiar, focuses on a feature called SwiftKey Flow that lets the user swipe to enter text (the company says this feature isn’t coming to iPad just yet, sadly). The product’s other features including autocorrection, next-word prediction, and its ability to learn as you use it, are also present in the iOS version. Much like the new default iOS keyboard, it gives you an option of three predicted words at the top of the screen, and as you use the keyboard, it just gets better and better at knowing what you might want to type.

SwiftKey’s word prediction technology has become known for its ‘mind-reading’ ability, which can reduce the frustrations of touchscreen typing down to a few effortless taps. The app will be packed with features that make typing faster and easier. Users will benefit from SwiftKey Flow gesture typing, the ability to type in two languages simultaneously, and SwiftKey Cloud, which enhances the keyboard’s learning with backup and additional personalization functionality.

SwiftKey feature what the company claims is improved autocorrect, which adapts to the way you type and makes it easier to fix pesky typos. And, if you’re bilingual, SwiftKey is one of the only apps of its kind that lets you type in both languages seamlessly without having to change keyboards. You can type in various forms of English, Portuguese, French, Italian, German, and Spanish.

The app also features something called SwiftKey Cloud, which seamlessly syncs the information the keyboard learns about you across all of your devices and platforms. All you have to do to activate the feature is sign in with a Facebook or Google account, and you can also share your Twitter, Facebook, Evernote, and Gmail archives with to the Cloud even more about how you type.

Below you’ll find some screenshots of how SwiftKey in its current iteration looks on iOS 8. You’ll be able to grab the keyboard at some point soon after iOS 8 is released.

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Comments

  1. herb02135go - 10 years ago

    This is available on my S5.

    As for Swype, I find it awful. On a small keyboard your hand obscures the letter you want to “swype” to.
    I’ve not tried it with a stylus.

    The autocorrect and word insertion is handy. After a while, I can type entire ( common) sentences without using the keyboard.

    • samuelsnay - 10 years ago

      Wait…you have this already on your Galaxy S5???? Maybe that’s why the first sentence in this article says that this is the most popular keyboard on Android.

      Jesus, you Android fanboys really need to pull your heads out of your butts and quit with the odd, desperate attacks on Apple. It just makes you look jealous.

      I mean, you were in such a hurry to brag about your crappy plastic phone that you couldn’t even be bothered to read a single sentence in an article. That’s pathetic.

      • Abraham Song - 10 years ago

        How was he attacking Apple? He was just conveying his experience of SwiftKey on Android which for a keyboard perspective should be similar on iOS.

        Calm down dude.

      • weakguy - 10 years ago

        Oh well, we got an Apple fanboy here. *sigh…

      • weakguy - 10 years ago

        Just so you know that this guy is merely sharing his experience with Swift keyboard.

    • herb02135go - 10 years ago

      Thanks Abraham.

      And thanks for the laugh, Samuel.

      Hilarious how you missed my point while accusing me of the same thing.

      Of course, my “crappy plastic phone” has provided me with features that you are still waiting for.

    • deepdesai1725 - 10 years ago

      I have also s5 and its flopest and helpless phone with helpless sensors. It never be helpful for me anytime. When I trying to answering calls its always cut the call. Can not use by one hand like iphone. So i thought iPhone 1 is more easy in use and more helpful then galaxy s5.

  2. Taste_of_Apple - 10 years ago

    Looks pretty cool.

  3. Mladen (@imldn) - 10 years ago

    It’s too skeumorphic for me. That’s why I created a flat one: http://drbl.in/mmjc

    • ryancallihan18 - 10 years ago

      Swiftkey for Android has a built-in theme store. I agree that it is pretty skeumorphic and doesn’t match iOS 8’s style, but hopefully they’ll have other themes that users can choose from. Something similar to your render would be awesome.

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Avatar for Stephen Hall Stephen Hall

Stephen is Growth Director at 9to5. If you want to get in touch, follow me on Twitter. Or, email at stephen (at) 9to5mac (dot) com, or an encrypted email at hallstephenj (at) protonmail (dot) com.


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