Swiftkey, one of the most popular and effective keyboard apps for the smartphone, is being acquired by Microsoft. Based on a report in the Financial Times, this deal is pegged at the tune of $250 million.
Back in the days when phones simply had numeric keypads with group of letters near each number, typing messages was often a tedious task. Never mind entire paragraphs, even getting a few lines involved a frustrating amount of tapping. When the entire mobile phone experience moved to glass, it got a whole generation accustomed to tapping letters on a touchscreen. Which is where apps like Swiftkey have been trying to find ever easier and more intuitive ways to type faster on a smartphone screen.
From being able to guess words based on sliding a finger across letters to literally being able to predict upcoming words using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Neural Network based approaches, Swiftkey has been continually pushing the boundaries on this front. Among its many other innovations, the app (which replaces the stock Android or iOS keyboard when installed,) is also able to learn a person’s language usage by scanning emails and social media posts, along with the ability to input using voice, suggest appropriate emojis and type easier in local Indian languages.
This acquisition is pertinent for Microsoft, given their already deep push into the field of AU with their Cortana voice assistant app. Although it isn’t clear whether the Swiftkey will continue to be available as a cross-platform app subsequently.
UPDATE: Swiftkey co-founders Jon Reynolds and Ben Medlock have confirmed that the app will continue to be developed for Android and iOS and will remain free. In a statement released, they said, "Our number one focus has always been to build the best possible products for our users. This will not change. Our apps will continue to be available on Android and iOS, for free. We are as committed as ever to improving them in new and innovative ways."
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