Back in October, Microsoft removed its SwiftKey virtual keyboard from Apple’s iOS platform. At the time, the company said this was a decision that would be permanent. Well, permanent as in less than two months. Microsoft now says it is reinstating SwiftKey on Apple’s mobile platform.
Pedram Rezaei (@pedram_re), Microsoft Maps & Local Services Division CTO, took to Twitter to confirm SwiftKey’s comeback. In the tweet, Rezaei said Microsoft reversed its decision based on customer demand. It seems SwiftKey users caused enough traction for Microsoft to change its mind.
Furthermore, the Microsoft exec says not only is SwiftKey returning to iOS, but the company is going to be “investing heavily in the keyboard”.
There are features in the pipeline although Microsoft is not yet detailing what they are. Microsoft has still also not said the reason why it wanted to remove SwiftKey.
With popular demand, we are bringing #SwiftKey is coming back to iOS.
— Pedram Rezaei (@pedram_re) November 18, 2022
Details
Microsoft’s SwiftKey is a popular mobile virtual keyboard, at least on Android. However, on iOS the app has been mostly neglected and has been without updates since back in 2021. So, it is good that Microsoft is confirming a recommitment to the keyboard.
SwiftKey came under Microsoft’s umbrella in 2016 when the company purchased the company for $250 million. Since then, the company has issued regular updates on Android and iOS, until last year when updates on iOS stopped.
You can download SwiftKey for iOS from the App Store, and the Android version is available from the Google Play Store.
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