Microsoft’s Word Flow keyboard for iPhone has been pulled from the App Store now that the company’s “experiment” is over.
The unique keyboard, which made its debut last April, was designed for one-handed typing on larger displays. Now Microsoft is advising fans to switch to SwiftKey instead.
Word Flow offered an interface you don’t typically see in third-party iPhone keyboards, and it was ideal for those with a Plus-sized device who wanted to type comfortably with one hand. It also offered some nice features, like background customization using your own photos.
Sadly, Word Flow is no longer available from the App Store, and those who have it won’t be receiving any further updates. “The Word Flow experiment is now complete,” Microsoft says, and it seems there are no plans to continue supporting it.
Microsoft is encouraging users to download SwiftKey instead, a popular alternative that Microsoft actually acquired last February for a rumored $250 million. It has gone without any significant updates since then, but it’s still a great keyboard.
There are some better alternatives, like Google’s excellent Gboard. However, Apple’s limitations mean using a third-party keyboard is never quite as seamless as using the default keyboard in iOS.
