It’s time to say goodbye to SwiftKey for iPhone

By

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.

Support for SwiftKey for iOS ends soon

Microsoft has not updated SwiftKey for iOS in over a year. SwiftKey’s support forums are filled with reports from iPhone users about various problems that the company has not responded to or acknowledged. With the app’s discontinuation, 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 5.

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 with iOS 8 in 2014. However, third-party keyboards don’t integrate seamlessly with the operating system as they do on Android. The experience is also buggy, leading to a poor user experience. There is a significant feature gap between the stock iOS keyboard and third-party options.

With the demise of SwiftKey for iOS, Google’s 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.

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.