Before iPhones started predicting words, there was SwiftKey. Microsoft bought it in 2016, and it has been one of the more favorite keyboards for iOS and Android users. After almost a year of no updates, iPhone customers started to worry about this app’s future – which is now shorter than expected.
According to ZDNet, Microsoft will delist SwiftKey from the App Store starting next week. Here’s what Chris Wolfe, director of product management at SwiftKey, said to the publication:
As of October 5, support for SwiftKey iOS will end and it will be delisted from the Apple App Store. Microsoft will continue support for SwiftKey Android as well as the underlying technology that powers the Windows touch keyboard. For those customers who have SwiftKey installed on iOS, it will continue to work until it is manually uninstalled or a user gets a new device. Please visit Support.SwiftKey.com for more information.
For ZDNet, it believes this could be related to Apple’s policies around “safeguarding its walled garden” since if “Apple doesn’t grant access to certain interfaces, there’s no easy or good way to make a product which needs integration to work.”
As of now, there’s no restriction regarding SwiftKey or predictive keyboards, although one would agree that Apple would prefer if users choose its own “privacy-first” solution.
Microsoft SwiftKey, according to its own app page, is “the intelligent keyboard that learns your writing style, so you can type faster,” which “means autocorrect actually works so you can get your point across fast, without errors.”
Users can also customize the keyboard with dozens of themes to choose from, send emojis, GIFS, and more.
According to the publication, SwiftKey will keep living on Android devices. iPhone users, at least, need to download the app before October 5 to enjoy a bit more of this predictive keyboard.
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