Why trust Greenbotthough third-party keyboard app SwiftKey has been making iOS news in recent weeks, the company hasn’t forgotten its Android roots its loyal following. On dnesday, SwiftKey launched a major update to its Android platform, dropping its $4 price tag instead adopting a freemium model. Other new features include an upgraded default theme (“Cobalt” has been replaced by “el”), emoji prediction, a built-in number row, an ever-growing prediction engine.
SwiftKey’s new default theme is el, but you can choose from several different themes in the SwiftKey store.
New users can download the app for free take advantage of its 15 included themes, purchase themes individually or in packages from within the app itself. If you’re already a SwiftKey user, you can install the app’s “emier ck” of ten new themes for free, as a bonus for jumping on board early. These keyboard themes offer different designs color schemes, which allow users to customize the look feel of their keyboard. New keyboards cost $1 to install, offer more dynamic color options. At launch, the SwiftKey store has about 30 items, with plenty of room for more.
A theme for every phone.
I had a chance to try out SwiftKey’s new update before launch, while I enjoy the aesthetics that the various themes bring, the focus of this tool will always be on its prediction engine swipe-to-text technology, SwiftKey Flow. I enjoy the app’s new emoji predictions—yes, as silly as that sounds. However, it’s one of the features that gets better more accurate the more you use it, much like the rest of SwiftKey. But its emoji bank has a wide selection, it quickly starts to associate specific emoji with your commonly used words phrases. For example, when I start to type “okay,” it often recommends the stard smiley Android bot emoji to go along with it, because I often follow up with that character.
The number row is another welcome feature, as this eliminates the need to pull up the separate number pad. Its engine flow trail upgrades are more subtle, yet appreciated—SwiftKey works hard in the background to deliver what you need at a faster pace, but with more accuracy.
Sure, emoji prediction isn’t a necessity, but it certainly is adorable.
The real significance of this particular update, however, isn’t the introduction of new features or the fancy new themes. SwiftKey is embracing an entirely new business model.
“ have made the decision to go free to better enable everyone, everywhere, to use SwiftKey’s market-leading technology without payment being a barrier,” said SwiftKey’s co-founder CEO Reynolds in a statement.
th the ay store flooded with various keyboard options—which are all competing with the keyboard that’s already pre-installed—making SwiftKey widely available at the oh-so-attractive price point of nothing is a smart move. Or perhaps SwiftKey is experimenting with a new monetization plan now as it gears up for the iOS frontier. Though SwiftKey already has a glowing reputation of being one of the most favored third-party keyboards out there, this move should ensure its continued growth.
ok for SwiftKey’s update in the ay store today.
