Microsoft to end support SwiftKey for iOS on October 5th
Microsoft has announced that it is ending support for SwiftKey for iOS. The popular keyboard app will be delisted from Apple's App Store on October 5th.
Microsoft to end support SwiftKey for iOS
SwiftKey debuted on iOS in the year 2014. Its success on Android and iOS drew the attention of Microsoft, and the Redmond company acquired it for $250 Million. The acquisition allowed the development of SwiftKey to prosper, and it continued adding new features on both mobile operating systems.
Despite its popularity, Microsoft seemed to abandon support for the keyboard app last year, even stopping the occasional bug fixes. The current version of SwiftKey for iOS is 2.9.2, it was released a year ago, in August 2021. Yet, it continues to function even on the latest version of the operating system, iOS 16.
SwiftKey's technology is also being put to use in Windows 11, specifically for the Windows Touch Keyboard. It is also capable of syncing the clipboard data between Windows and Android devices.
Chris Wolfe, Director of Product Management at SwiftKey, told The Verge that users who have SwiftKey installed on their iOS device can continue to use it even after it is deslisted. But the keyboard app cannot be downloaded again if it is uninstalled, this also means that users who switch to new devices will be unable to fetch it from the App Store. Wolfe also confirmed that SwiftKey for Android remains unaffected by this announcement, and will continue to be supported. He did not explain why Microsoft is discontinuing SwiftKey on iOS.
When ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley asked Microsoft for more details about the decision to end support for the keyboard app, the company's officials had nothing to say. The author speculates that Microsoft may have decided to abandon the app due to the limitations imposed by Apple, for third-party keyboards.
Interestingly, we were unable to sign in to our Microsoft account via the SwiftKey app. When I looked up a fix for it, I came across a post on reddit where users have been facing the same issue since last month. It is also worth mentioning that all articles related to the iOS app on SwiftKey's support portal have been removed. A new page is live on the website, it states that SwiftKey for iOS is being deprecated, and hence will be delisted from the App Store on October 5th. It also asks users to visit https://data.swiftkey.com/ to manage your data. If you want to continue using the app, now is your chance to download it on your iPhone or iPad, before it is delisted permanently next week.
I have been using SwiftKey for around 10 years (initially on Android, and later on iOS), and I can't think of a good alternative keyboard app for iOS. Google's keyboard app, Gboard for iOS, hasn't been updated for a few months now, and it's not as good as SwiftKey in my opinion, the accuracy of the gestures, the word prediction, and automatic punctuation were better in the latter. I suppose this means we are stuck with Apple's stock keyboard now, which is not a very good app.
Did you like SwiftKey for iOS?
It’s good to remove spyware from the App Store.
I use it on Android but with the app’s network/data permission disabled, meaning that it cannot be used for anything dodgy by MS
Apps will still try to use the system processes to resolve DNS and communicate that way instead of directly. I’ve learned that the hard way by monitoring Adguard/Pihole. And as far as I’m aware, the network data permission toggle is for cellular only, unless you are rooted and are able to disable the intents somehow.
Swiftkey is not spyware.
Anyway, all the more reason to not use (cr)apple products.
Not denying that Apple’s OS is restrictive, but just for example: I recently purchased the Galaxy S22. It had two of several different products: two messaging apps that were named the same with the same icon, and were technically the same product but one was Samsung skinned. That alone was horribly confusing. There were two Assistants and two of some other apps that I don’t recall. On top of that, it installed programs that weren’t requested (that paid AT&T to get installed using it’s malware app). Samsung and Google were warring against each other to see who could collect the most user data among their apps. Facebook came preinstalled, the worst privacy offender out there next to Google. The phone ran hot most of the time due to all the garbage running, even after an advanced cleanup. Battery life was horrible. Google allowed it all and added to it with their nonsense decisions.
Now I have the iPhone 14P. Right out of the box, it runs clean, fast, and smooth. It doesn’t get hot hardly at all and battery life is incredible. It really “just works”. It might be restrictive in some ways, but it works VASTLY better than Google’s nonsense.
Yeah, the article conclusion is pretty bad. “Google keyboard is only 90% good as swift key but i guess we’re stuck with the default keyboard which is 20% as good.”
What’s with all of the Windows/Microsoft news items lately? I just threw up on my stuffed animal Snuffy.
I can’t do without SwiftKey!! I even wrote to Apple when I got my work iPhone to request I have the option to use it. What a concept!! A number row on the top and arrow buttons on the bottom. Almost all passwords are letters AND numbers. It makes no sense to have to tab another key to get to the numbers. It’s why I only use my iPhone for Teams and seeing my work email. Apple restricts it to only use in some of the apps. Ridiculous! I want control to get what I need. #smh