I’ve used SwiftKey on Android, so I was quite excited when Apple announced Third Party Keyboard support in iOS8 at WWDC ’14. SwiftKey promptly announced plans to launch a version of their incredibly powerful (and great looking) keyboard on iOS. SwiftKey Note was an able demonstrator for the keyboard, but it just wasn’t enough. I’m really glad I finally got my mitts on it, and I came away with hope for the future.
SwiftKey is a ‘learning’ keyboard, meaning that it analyses the way you type and the words you use, and then adapts its predicition engine accordingly. It takes some time for it to do so, but the results are always magical. Of course, you will need to grant it access to the internet for it to truly work its magic, so if you’re someone who is recalcitrant about sharing what you type in messages/email over the internet, SwiftKey may not live up to your expectations. It also allows you to type in multiple languages at once, without having to change the language settings, which is great for those of us so inclined. SwiftKey also brings Flow to iOS, which is its Swype-like entry feature. Slide your finger across the screen, moving over the letters you want to type (including the Space Bar for ending one word and moving on to the next), and the keyboard intuitively guesses what you meant to type. It’s definitely great, but is an acquired taste. The keyboard itself is a Universal app, but Flow is only available on the iPhone/iPod Touch for now. Finally, SwiftKey can save what it has learned and sync across devices by using SwiftKey Cloud. If you’ve used SwiftKey on Android, you can resume where you left off, as SwiftKey Cloud will import your typing eccentricities over from Little Green Robot Land.
SwiftKey comes with two themes and six languages, and is available for Free on the App Store. Definitely a keyboard we recommend you try out.