Microsoft SwiftKey explained

Microsoft SwiftKey
Collapsible:yes
Author:Jon Reynolds
Ben Medlock
Developer:Microsoft
Ver Layout:stacked
Operating System:iOS, Android, Windows 10 (versions 1809 to 1909)
Size:24 MB (Android)
139.7 MB (iOS)
Language Count:700+ (Android)[1]
614 (iOS)[2]
Genre:Virtual keyboard
License:Proprietary software

Microsoft SwiftKey is a virtual keyboard app originally developed by TouchType for Android and iOS devices. It was first released for Android in July 2010,[3] followed by an iOS release in September 2014 after Apple's implementation of third-party keyboard support.[4]

History

The company behind SwiftKey was founded in 2008[5] by Jon Reynolds, Ben Medlock[6] and Chris Hill-Scott. Their head office is located at the Microsoft offices in Paddington, London, and their other offices are located in San Francisco, California and Seoul.[7]

In September 2013, SwiftKey announced a series B finance round totaling $17.5 million led by Index Ventures, along with Octopus Investments and Accel Partners.

In May 2014, SwiftKey hired James Bromley as COO.[8]

In February 2016, SwiftKey was purchased by Microsoft for USD$250 million (~USD$ in).[9] [10]

In May 2020, the app was rebranded as Microsoft SwiftKey to reflect its present ownership.[11]

In September 2022, Microsoft announced that they were ending support for the iOS version of SwiftKey. The app was ultimately removed from the App Store on October 5, 2022[12] However, in November 2022, Microsoft announced that they decided to reverse their decision to discontinue SwiftKey for iOS devices. The app was relisted on November 18, with Microsoft assuring future updates for the app. The company cited "customer feedback" as a reason for SwiftKey's return.[13]

Overview

Microsoft SwiftKey is a virtual keyboard released on the Android and iOS operating systems. The purpose of the app is to increase efficiency while typing on a mobile phone. According to the Microsoft SwiftKey website, SwiftKey allows the user to speed up their typing process by "giving them more accurate autocorrect and predictions by learning their writing style".[14]

History

Beta

SwiftKey was first released as a beta in the Android Market on 14 July 2010, supporting seven languages. It included a variety of settings to adjust audio feedback volume and length of haptic feedback vibration. It was announced on SwiftKey's official website on 15 May 2014 that a Japanese version was available for beta testing.

SwiftKey X

On 14 July 2011, SwiftKey X was released to the Android Market as an upgrade to SwiftKey. The upgrade brought updated features and SwiftKey X introduced a dedicated app for tablets called SwiftKey Tablet X. New features included:

SwiftKey 3

The SwiftKey 3 update was released on 21 June 2012, including:

SwiftKey 4

The SwiftKey 4 update was released on 20 February 2013, including:

SwiftKey 5

The SwiftKey 5 update was released in June 2014, including:

SwiftKey 6

The SwiftKey 6 update was released in November 2015, including:

SwiftKey 7.0

The SwiftKey 7.0 update was released in March 2018, including:

SwiftKey for iOS

SwiftKey released an iOS application on 30 January 2014, called Swiftkey Note, which incorporates SwiftKey's predictive typing technology as a custom toolbar attached to the top of the regular iOS keyboard.[15]

Starting with iOS 8, released in the second half of 2014, the operating system enables and supports third-party keyboards use. SwiftKey confirmed that it was working on a keyboard replacement app.[16]

Starting with iOS 13, the system keyboard came with a built in QuickPath mechanism, which works similarly to SwiftKey's swiping feature.[17]

SwiftKey for iOS was announced to be deprecated in September 2022.[18] In November 2022, however, Microsoft reverted this decision.[19]

SwiftKey for iPhone

SwiftKey Keyboard for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch launched in September 2014 to coincide with the launch of Apple's iOS 8 update. It was unveiled at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco.

The app includes the word prediction and auto-correction features, familiar to the Android product, SwiftKey Cloud backup and sync and personalization, and a choice of color themes.

It reached No. 1 in the free US App Store charts and the company confirmed it had been downloaded more than 1 million times on the first day of launch.[20]

Further development

On 27 February 2012, the SwiftKey SDK was launched. This allows developers on multiple platforms and programming languages to access SwiftKey's core language-engine technology for their own UI or virtual keyboard.

In June 2012, SwiftKey released a specialized version of its keyboard called SwiftKey Healthcare. It is a virtual keyboard for iOS, Android, Windows Phone and BlackBerry devices that offers next-word predictions based on real-world clinical data. In October 2012, SwiftKey Healthcare won the Appsters Award for Best Enterprise App 2012.

In April 2016, SwiftKey released a keyboard that emulated William Shakespeare's speech called ShakeSpeak in observance of the 400th year of the author's death.[21] The app was co-developed with VisitLondon.com to promote more tourism to the metropolitan area of London.[22]

SwiftKey integration was included with Windows 10 beginning with the October 2018 Update.[23] However, these features were later removed from Windows 10 beginning with the May 2020 Update.[24]

Controversy

In 2015, NowSecure reported a vulnerability present in the version of SwiftKey pre-installed on Samsung devices. This would occur when the keyboard attempted to update its language pack. Samsung has since released security and firmware updates to mitigate the issue. However, TechCrunch published an article on why the issue happened because of how Samsung implemented the keyboard system on its devices.[25] [26] [27]

In 2016, SwiftKey users began reporting that the app was displaying personal details as suggested words to other users who did not have previous connections. Other issues included foreign languages and obscene words. SwiftKey responded by disabling cloud sync for word suggestions and releasing an update to mitigate the issue.[28] [29] [30]

Awards

SwiftKey has received multiple awards, including:

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: What languages are currently supported for SwiftKey on Android?. SwiftKey Support. en-US. 9 April 2023.
  2. Web site: What languages are currently supported for SwiftKey on iOS?. SwiftKey Support. en-US. 9 April 2023.
  3. Web site: Swiftkey Keyboard For Android Now Available In The Market As A Public Beta. Swype Begone - It's That Good!. 14 July 2010. Android Police. en-US. 4 January 2019.
  4. Web site: SwiftKey for iOS Review. Bryant. Martin. 17 September 2014. The Next Web. en-us. 4 January 2019.
  5. Web site: 2019-05-17 . [Withdrawn] HQ-UK: The international hub for your digital business (online version) ]. 2023-12-12 . GOV.UK . en.
  6. Web site: SwiftKey - About our company and media recognition. https://web.archive.org/web/20151229215926/http://www.swiftkey.com/en/company/. dead. 29 December 2015. 29 December 2015. 4 January 2019.
  7. News: Bradshaw . Tim . Ahmed . Murad . 2016-02-02 . Microsoft steps up AI push with Swiftkey deal . Financial Times . 2023-07-24.
  8. Web site: To Scale Up, Swiftkey Hires The Guy Who Built MailOnline – TechCrunch. techcrunch.com. 14 May 2014 . en-US. 21 May 2018.
  9. Web site: Microsoft Confirms SwiftKey Acquisition (For $250M In Cash) – TechCrunch. techcrunch.com. 3 February 2016 . en-US. 21 May 2018.
  10. Web site: Microsoft taps into AI with SwiftKey app acquisition. CNET. 3 February 2016.
  11. Web site: 2020-05-13 . SwiftKey becomes Microsoft SwiftKey Keyboard, years after acquisition . 2020-05-23 . Pocket-lint . en-gb.
  12. Web site: Nistor . Codrut . Microsoft will kill SwiftKey for iOS next week . 2022-10-03 . Notebookcheck . October 2022 . en.
  13. Web site: Palash Volvoikar . 2022-11-19 . SwiftKey for iOS is back 45 days after Microsoft announced it was going away . 2022-11-21 . iMore . en.
  14. Web site: Microsoft SwiftKey Keyboard help & learning . 2024-03-18 . support.microsoft.com.
  15. Web site: SwiftKey gets its predictive keyboard onto iOS, with a little help from Evernote . The Verge . 30 January 2014 . 2 February 2014.
  16. Web site: Uses of Computer Function Keys . https://web.archive.org/web/20170311151847/http://quickbookssupportphonenumber.us/ . dead . 11 March 2017 . 23 November 2018 . 23 November 2018 .
  17. Web site: iOS 13 - Features. Apple. en-US. 2019-10-04.
  18. Web site: Microsoft's discontinuing SwiftKey on iOS next week . 28 September 2022 .
  19. Web site: SwiftKey is unexpectedly back on iOS . 19 November 2022 .
  20. Web site: SwiftKey Keyboard for iPhone passes 1 million downloads & hits No 1 . 18 September 2014 .
  21. Web site: You can now text like Shakespeare with ShakeSpeak app by Microsoft's SwiftKey.. Viswav. Pradeep. 7 April 2016. MSPowerUser.
  22. Web site: ShakeSpeak app lets Shakespeare fans text like the Bard.. RELEASE. PRESS. 7 April 2016. Baltimore - Post-Examiner.
  23. Web site: OnMSFT.com SwiftKey keyboard finally comes to Windows 10 devices. 3 October 2018. OnMSFT.com. en. 4 January 2019.
  24. Web site: Popa . Bogdan . 2020-01-06 . Microsoft Removes SwiftKey Settings from Windows 10 Version 2004 . 2022-11-21 . softpedia . english.
  25. Web site: Remote Code Execution as System User on Samsung Phones. Goetsch. Sallie. 16 June 2015. NowSecure. en-US. 4 January 2019.
  26. Web site: Samsung to fix keyboard vulnerability thru KNOX, firmware update. Hoff. John. 18 June 2015. Android Community. en-US. 4 January 2019.
  27. Web site: No, It's Samsung, Not Swiftkey, That Is To Blame For This Keyboard Security Scare. TechCrunch. 17 June 2015 . en-US. 4 January 2019.
  28. Web site: Important information regarding SwiftKey sync services. 29 July 2016. SwiftKey Blog. en. 4 January 2019.
  29. News: SwiftKey app leaked users' email addresses and phone numbers to strangers. McGoogan. Cara. 29 July 2016. The Telegraph. 4 January 2019. en-GB. 0307-1235.
  30. Web site: SwiftKey bug leaked emails and other personal information. Carman. Ashley. 29 July 2016. The Verge. 4 January 2019.
  31. Web site: The Europas Award Winners. theeuropas.com. 6 January 2016.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Microsoft SwiftKey".

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