SwiftKey

For the enterprise search startup with a similar name, see Swiftype.
SwiftKey
Original author(s) Jon Reynolds and Dr Ben Medlock
Developer(s) Swiftkey (Subsidiary of Microsoft)
Development status Active
Operating system iOS
Android
Available in 100+ languages
Type Virtual keyboard
License Proprietary
Alexa rank Decrease 28,003[1]
Website swiftkey.com

SwiftKey is an input method for Android and iOS devices, such as smartphones and tablets. SwiftKey uses a blend of artificial intelligence technologies that enable it to predict the next word the user intends to type.[2] SwiftKey learns from previous SMS messages and output predictions based on currently input text and what it has learned.

The company behind SwiftKey was founded in 2008 by Jon Reynolds, Dr Ben Medlock[3] and Chris Hill-Scott.[4] It employs a staff of over 160 people. Its head office is in Southwark, London, and other offices are located in San Francisco, US, and Seoul, South Korea.[3]

In September 2013, SwiftKey announced a series B finance round totaling $17.5 million and led by Index Ventures along with Octopus Investments and Accel Partners.[5]

In February 2016, SwiftKey was purchased by Microsoft, for $250 million.[6][7][8][9]

Software

The Prediction Engine used allows SwiftKey to learn from usage and improve predictions.[10] This feature allows the tool to improve with usage,[10] learning from SMS, Facebook, Gmail, Twitter, and an RSS feed.

Currently supported languages:

  • Afrikaans
  • Albanian
  • Arabic
  • Armenian
  • Assamese
  • Azerbaijani
  • Bangla
  • Basque
  • Belarusian
  • Bengali
  • Bodo
  • Bosnian
  • Breton
  • Bulgarian
  • Burmese
  • Catalan
  • Chinese (Simplified)
  • Chinese (Traditional, HK)
  • Chinese (Traditional, TW)
  • Croatian
  • Czech
  • Danish
  • Dogri
  • Dutch
  • English (AU)
  • English (CA)
  • English (UK)
  • English (US)
  • Estonian
  • Persian (Farsi)
  • Finnish
  • French (CA)
  • French (FR)
  • Galician
  • Georgian
  • German
  • Greek
  • Gujarati
  • Hebrew
  • Hindi
  • Hinglish
  • Hungarian
  • Icelandic
  • Igbo
  • Indonesian
  • Irish
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Javanese
  • Kannada
  • Kashmiri
  • Kazakh
  • Khmer
  • Konkani
  • Konkani (Kannada)
  • Korean
  • Kyrgyz
  • Lao
  • Latvian
  • Lithuanian
  • Macedonian
  • Maithili
  • Malay
  • Malayalam
  • Manipuri
  • Marathi
  • Mongolian
  • Nepali
  • Norwegian
  • Oriya
  • Persian (Farsi)
  • Polish
  • Portuguese (BR)
  • Portuguese (PT)
  • Punjabi
  • Romanian
  • Russian
  • Sanskrit
  • Santali
  • Serbian
  • Serbian (Cyrillic)
  • Sindhi
  • Sinhala
  • Slovak
  • Slovenian
  • Spanish (ES)
  • Spanish (Latin America)
  • Spanish (US)
  • Sudanese
  • Swahili
  • Swedish
  • Tagalog
  • Tajik
  • Tamil
  • Tatar
  • Telugu
  • Thai
  • Turkish
  • Turkmen
  • Ukrainian
  • Urdu
  • Uzbek
  • Vietnamese
  • Welsh
  • Xhosa
  • Yoruba
  • Zulu

Versions

Beta

SwiftKey was first released as a beta in the Android Market on 14 July 2010, supporting seven languages. It included a variety of settings to adjust audio feedback volume and length of haptic feedback vibration. It was announced on SwiftKey's official website on 15 May 2014, that a Japanese version is out on beta. People registered on SwiftKey VIP were able to download the beta version.[10]

SwiftKey X

On 14 July 2011, SwiftKey X was released to the Android Market as an upgrade to SwiftKey. Along with new and updated features, SwiftKey X introduced a dedicated app for tablets, called SwiftKey Tablet X. The updates included:[11]

SwiftKey 3

The SwiftKey 3 update[12] was released on 21 June 2012, including:

SwiftKey 4

The SwiftKey 4 update[13] was released on 20 February 2013, including:

SwiftKey 5

The SwiftKey 5 update[14] was released in June 2014, including:

SwiftKey 6

The SwiftKey 6 update[14] was released in November 2015, including:

SwiftKey for iOS

Swiftkey released an iOS application on 30 January 2014, called Swiftkey Note, that incorporates its predictive typing technology as a custom toolbar attached to the top of the regular iOS keyboard.[15]

Starting with iOS 8, released in the second half of 2014, the operating system enables and support third party keyboards use. SwiftKey confirmed that it was working on a keyboard replacement app.[16]

SwiftKey for iPhone

SwiftKey Keyboard for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch launched in September 2014 to coincide with the launch of Apple's iOS8 update. It was unveiled at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco.[17]

The app includes the word prediction and autocorrection features, familiar to the Android product, SwiftKey Cloud backup and sync and personalization, and a choice of color themes.

It reached No. 1 in the free US App Store charts and the company confirmed it had been downloaded more than 1 million times on the first day of launch.

Further development

On 27 February 2012, the SwiftKey SDK was launched.[18] This allows developers on multiple platforms and programming languages to access SwiftKey's core language-engine technology for their own UI or virtual keyboard.[18]

In June 2012, SwiftKey released a specialized version of its keyboard called SwiftKey Healthcare. It is a virtual keyboard for iOS, Android, Windows Phone and BlackBerry devices that offers next-word predictions based on real-world clinical data.[19] In October 2012 SwiftKey Healthcare won the Appsters Award for Best Enterprise App 2012.[20]

In April 2016 SwiftKey released a keyboard that emulated William Shakespeare's speech called ShakeSpeak celebrating the 400th year of the author's death.[21] The app was co-developed with VisitLondon.com to promote more tourism to the metropolitan area of London.[22]

Awards

SwiftKey has received many awards, including:

Competitors

SwiftKey Flow is similar in concept to Swype, Fleksy, SwipeIt, SlideIT, TouchPal, Adaptxt, ShapeWriter, Multiling O Keyboard, Sony Gesture Input, and Android 4.2 Gesture typing, all of which also involve tracing a path over letters on a virtual keyboard. A little different approach yet still similar in concept is found in MessagEase and Minuum.

Keyboards with optional tracing mode include HTC Touch Input, and Ultra Keyboard for Android.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Swiftkey site overview". Alexa. Alexa Internet, Inc. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  2. ↑ Chris Yackulic (6 September 2010). "The Revolution of Keyboard Input Coming Very Swift-ly… with SwiftKey". androidheadlines.com. Retrieved 4 October 2012
  3. 1 2 SwiftKey - Our company. swiftkey.com. Retrieved 20 September 2012
  4. ↑ SwiftKey’s co-founder sold his shares for a bicycle—and missed out on a share of $250 million. qz.com Retrieved 5 February 2016
  5. ↑ "SwiftKey the clairvoyant keyboard raises 17.6 million Forbes. Retrieved 2013-26-09
  6. ↑ "SwiftKey is joining Microsoft". SwiftKey Blog. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  7. ↑ Butcher, Mike. "Microsoft Is Acquiring London’s AI-Driven SwiftKey For $250M". TechCrunch. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  8. ↑ "Microsoft taps into AI with SwiftKey app acquisition". CNET. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  9. ↑ "Swiftly purchased by Microsoft"
  10. 1 2 3 Jerry Hildenbrand (14 July 2010). "SwiftKey beta keyboard now available on the Android Market". androidcentral.com. Retrieved 20 September 2012
  11. ↑ Myriam Joire (14 July 2011). "SwiftKey X virtual keyboard launches for Android tablets, we go hands-on (video)". engadget.com. Retrieved 10 October 2012
  12. ↑ Stephen Shankland (21 June 2012). "For better Android typing: SwiftKey 3". cnet.com. Retrieved 4 October 2010
  13. ↑ Jaymar Cabebe (20 February 2012). "The best Android keyboard we've reviewed". cnet.com. Retrieved 20 February 2013
  14. 1 2 "Popular paid Android keyboard SwiftKey goes free for all" CNET. Retrieved 26 November 2014
  15. ↑ "SwiftKey gets its predictive keyboard onto iOS, with a little help from Evernote". The Verge. 30 January 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  16. ↑ "Swiftkey is Coming to iOS". 3 June 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  17. ↑ Natasha Lomas. "SwiftKey Shows Off Its iOS 8 Keyboard For The First Time". TechCrunch.com. Retrieved 26 November 2014
  18. 1 2 James Trew (29 February 2012). "SwiftKey launches SDK, phones and tablets get more predictable". engadget.com. Retrieved 20 September 2012
  19. ↑ David Needle (21 June 2012). "New SwiftKey 3 for Android speeds touchscreen typing; special healthcare version for iOS as well also released". tabtimes.com. Retrieved 10 October 2012
  20. ↑ SwiftKey Healthcare - Best Enterprise App 2012. the-appsters.com. Retrieved 10 October 2012
  21. ↑ Viswav, Pradeep (7 April 2016). "You can now text like Shakespeare with ShakeSpeak app by Microsoft’s SwiftKey.". MSPowerUser.
  22. ↑ RELEASE, PRESS (7 April 2016). "ShakeSpeak app lets Shakespeare fans text like the Bard.". Baltimore - Post-Examiner.
  23. ↑ "SwiftKey Shows Off Its iOS 8 Keyboard For The First Time". TechCrunch.com. Retrieved 26 November 2014
  24. ↑ "Meffy's 2014 finalists". Meffys.com. Retrieved 26 November 2014
  25. ↑ Meffys 2013 winners announced Meffys.com Retrieved 23 December 2013
  26. ↑ Appsters 2013 winners announced ITProPortal article. Retrieved 23 December 2013
  27. 1 2 SwiftKey blog. Retrieved 23 December 2013
  28. ↑ Mobile Marketing Magazine > Awards > 2010 Winners. mobilemarketingmagazine.com. Retrieved 20 September 2012
  29. ↑ (2010-11-3). "The London droid community choose – Swiftkey – APPCircus@Droidcon winner". appcircus.com. Retrieved 20 September 2012
  30. ↑ Cosmin Vasile (24 March 2011). "CTIA 2011: SwiftKey Tablet Android App Receives the E-Tech Award". news.softpedia.com. Retrieved 10 October 2012
  31. ↑ Mobile Premier Awards - Meet the winners of the global AppCircus 2011 tour!. mobilepremierawards.com. Retrieved 20 September 2012
  32. ↑ Marie Domingo (28 February 2012). "SwiftKey Wins Most Innovative Mobile App at Global Mobile Awards 2012". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 20 September 2012
  33. ↑ Webby Awards. webbyawards.com. Retrieved 20 September 2012
  34. ↑ "Guardian Awards for Digital Innovation - winners 2012". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 20 September 2012
  35. ↑ "The Europas Award Winners". theeuropas.com. Retrieved 6 January 2016.

External links

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