Photo: Killian Bell
Microsoft is killing SwiftKey for iOS, one of the most popular third-party keyboard apps for iPhone. The company will remove the app from the App Store and end its support on October 5th.
SwiftKey has been available for iPhones since 2014. Microsoft acquired the keyboard app in 2016 and eventually discontinued its own Word Flow keyboard for iPhone.
Support for SwiftKey for iOS ends soon
Microsoft had not updated SwiftKey for iOS in over a year now. SwiftKey’s support forums are filled with reports from iPhone users about various issues that the company has not responded to or acknowledged. With the app now being discontinued, any known issues and bugs will remain unresolved.
You can continue using SwiftKey on your iPhone after its App Store removal, provided it is installed on your device. However, users won’t be able to download the app on a new iPhone. Or download it again on their device after October 5th.
SwiftKey’s director of product management confirmed in a statement to The Verge that the company would continue to support SwiftKey for Android. The keyboard’s technology also powers the Windows touch keyboard prediction system.
Third-party keyboards don’t work well on iOS
Apple added support for third-party keyboards on iOS in 2014 with iOS 8. However, third-party keyboards don’t integrate seamlessly with the OS as on Android. The experience is also buggy, leading to a poor user experience. There is also a significant feature gap between the stock iOS and third-party keyboard.
With the demise of SwiftKey for iOS, Gboard is the only other popular third-party keyboard available for the platform. The various iOS restrictions mean there are hardly any other third-party keyboard apps for iPhone worth trying.