SwiftKey

SwiftKey for iPhone is back on the App Store

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SwiftKey works great on the giant iPhone 6 Plus.
Microsoft brings back SwiftKey for iPhone.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

In an unexpected development, SwiftKey is back on the App Store just a month after Microsoft removed the virtual keyboard app.

The move comes following customer feedback about the discontinuation of SwiftKey for iOS.

It’s time to say goodbye to SwiftKey for iPhone

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SwiftKey works great on the giant iPhone 6 Plus.
SwiftKey for iOS is riding off into the sunset.
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 5.

SwiftKey first became available for iPhones in 2014. Microsoft acquired the keyboard app in 2016 and eventually discontinued its own Word Flow keyboard for iPhone.

Fortnite, Textor, and other awesome apps of the week

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Awesome Apps
'Appy weekend, everyone!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Awesome Apps

Fortnite, arguably the most anticipated iOS game of 2018, is just one of our selections for “Awesome Apps of the Week.”

In addition, we’ve got Google’s AI assistant newly landed on iPad, a neat update to one of the most popular third-party keyboards around, and a great basic text-editing app for iOS. Check out our picks below.

Old Man’s Journey, Google Assistant, and other awesome apps of the week

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Awesome Apps
'Appy weekend!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

A gorgeously illustrated, story-driven game with an utterly unique gameplay mechanic is just one of the titles we’ve picked out for this week’s “Awesome Apps” roundup.

We’ve also got Google’s AI assistant, a classic Capcom game finally landed in the App Store after almost 30 years, and a third party keyboard that’s gotten even better. Check out our picks below.

Microsoft’s one-handed iOS keyboard is here

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Word Flow iPhone
Word Flow for iPhone is no more.
Photo: Microsoft

Typing with one hand on the gigantic iPhone 6s Plus just got a whole lot easier thanks to one of Apple’s biggest rivals.

Microsoft revealed today that its new one-handed keyboard app “Word Flow” for iOS is finally ready for primetime after a week in public beta, and it does a lot more than just one-handed typing.

Each state has its own fave emoji (and some of you people are weird)

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Everybody loves emoji. Even the weird ones.
Everybody loves emoji. Even the weird ones.
Photo: Technewz

 

Emoji have quickly become the language of choice for digital natives, but when it comes to the tiny pictograms, not all emoji are used equally. To find out which areas of the United States use emoji differently, SwiftKey analyzed over 1 billion emoji used on its keyboard app between June 2014 and 2015, and came away with some interesting take aways — like the elephant emoji being most popular in Alabama, while the volcano emoji is blowing up in Maine.

Check out the map to see which is your state’s favorite emoji:

Stephen Hawking uses SwiftKey to work smarter, faster

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Now Professor Hawking can curse autocorrect, too. Photo: The Next Web
Now Professor Hawking can curse autocorrect, too. Photo: The Next Web

Famous astrophysicist Stephen Hawking has a better way to talk now, thanks to a new custom predictive text software upgrade from SwiftKey and Intel Labs. The technology that Professor Hawking was currently using was going on 20 years old, and needed a fix to help him communicate and work faster and more efficiently.

His life-long motor neurone disease of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has necessitated his use of communications technology, and this new system will allow him to choose words rather than individual letters, which lets him type less than 20 percent of all needed characters in his messages. It also makes him 10 times more efficient with other computing tasks like browsing the web, working with files, and switching between tasks on the computer.

Why does Apple strip dictation from third-party keyboards in iOS 8?

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Why won't Apple let keyboards (like Fleksy, above)  access dictation? Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Why won't Apple let third-party keyboards offer dictation? Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

If you’ve installed a third-party keyboard on your iPhone or iPad running iOS 8, you might have noticed a strange omission: While you can communicate in animated GIFs or Klingon, you can’t dictate into any keyboard not made by Apple.

Reddit user 11011 sums up the puzzling situation nicely: “I can’t get myself to stick to alternate keyboards because I use dictation way too much and switching keyboards is a hassle.”

A definitive guide to third-party keyboards in iOS 8

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Minuum is one of the many third-party keyboards for iOS 8. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Minuum is one of the many third-party keyboards for iOS 8. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

With iOS 8, iPhone and iPad owners for the first time ever can replace Apple’s default virtual keyboard with a third-party alternative.

Doing so — with keyboards made by SwiftKey, Swype, Fleksy and others — could vastly improve your touchscreen typing experience. Not only do some of these keyboards make typing easier, but they also boast innovative features, like the ability to type words using simple swipes instead of taps. Many of these keyboards are completely customizable, so you can set their size and color scheme to suit you.

If you haven’t already installed a third-party keyboard, you’re missing out on one of iOS 8’s best features. In this guide, first we’ll tell you about the best keyboards available from the App Store right now. We’ll also run through the features that make them unique, show you how you can customize them and make them work for you, and explain some important concepts, such as “Full Access.”

How to start enjoying third-party keyboards in iOS 8

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iOS 8 finally gives iPhone users a feature Android owners have long loved: third-party keyboards.

It’s a pretty familiar feature, but unleashing developers so they can create new keyboards for the iPhone (and iPad) is huge — and users being able to enjoy them all is even better.

In today’s Cult of Mac video, we show you how to install third-party keyboards in iOS 8 and introduce you to some of our favorite available custom keyboards. You’ll find out how to wipe to type your messages, give your keyboards themes and much more with this instructional video.

Subscribe to Cult of Mac TV on YouTube to catch all our latest videos.

See how third-party keyboards will ease typing in iOS 8

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iOS 8 introduces many convenient features and enhancements designed to make your iPhone even easier to use. Among these is keyboard update QuickType and support for installing third-party keyboards on iPhones, iPads and iPod touches. In today’s video, we’ll show you exactly how third-party keyboards work — and how they will change your interactions with your device for the better.

Subscribe to Cult of Mac TV on YouTube to catch all our latest videos.