Apple’s SwiftKey keyboard for the iPhone and iPad is still going strong after years of being used by millions of people. But some users are concerned that the keyboard might eventually die after years of use. SwiftKey has been around since 2009, and it’s been used by millions of people all over the world. Some users are worried that the keyboard might eventually die after years of use, but SwiftKey CEO Patrick Mynyk says that there’s no reason to worry. “There have been no reports of any Keyboard issues in the past,” Mynyk said in a statement. “We’re confident that our keyboards will continue to work well for many years to come.”
Back in September, Microsoft confirmed in a statement to ZDNet that SwiftKey for iPad and iPhone would be pulled from the App Store on October 5. There was no explanation given for the discontinuation, but it has not received any updates for over a year, while the Android version had received many updates in the same period.
Microsoft has now seemingly reversed course, as Pedram Rezaei, Microsoft Maps & Local Services Division CTO, stated on Twitter that that SwiftKey “is coming back to iOS.” Vishnu Nath, a Microsoft VP, also shared the news and said, “stay tuned to what the team has in store for it!” The app is still available in the App Store, but no updates have arrived yet — it still reports version 2.9.2 from August 2021 as the most recent release.
There’s still not an obvious reason why the app was marked for removal from the App Store, and Rezaei only said the reversal was due to “popular demand” and Microsoft is “investing heavily in the keyboard.” A Microsoft spokesperson told How-To Geek, “based on customer feedback, SwiftKey iOS has been relisted on the Apple App Store.”
Apple added support for third-party keyboards in iOS 8 back in 2014, but there are more restrictions compared to third-party keyboards on Android. Apple’s keyboard is still forced when entering passwords or other sensitive data, so even if you have SwiftKey or another app set as your keyboard, it won’t appear all the time.
Source: Pedram Rezaei (Twitter), Vishnu Nath (Twitter) Via: Neowin