SwiftKey becomes Microsoft SwiftKey Keyboard

May 13, 2020 04:03 GMT  ·  By

SwiftKey continues to be one of the best, if not the best, third-party keyboard apps for Android and iPhone, and Microsoft keeps improving it with every single update by adding extra polishing and support for more languages.

The latest Android beta, however, includes a change that just makes sense: SwiftKey is being renamed to Microsoft SwiftKey Keyboard, so you’ll better know who owns the app.

Microsoft purchased SwiftKey back in February 2016, and at that point, the app was already a top keyboard app for mobile devices. But the Microsoft acquisition provided SwiftKey with even more exposure, eventually turning it into the preferred choice for the majority of users worldwide.

A decision that just makes sense

This is a change that everybody could see coming, especially because SwiftKey is now an essential part of Microsoft’s mobile offering. And as Harry Shum, a Microsoft executive vice president back in the days when the takeover was announced, said, integrating SwiftKey in Microsoft’s portfolio was a long-term plan.

“This acquisition is a great example of Microsoft’s commitment to bringing its software and services to all platforms,” he said.

“We’ll continue to develop SwiftKey’s market-leading keyboard apps for Android and iOS as well as explore scenarios for the integration of the core technology across the breadth of our product and services portfolio. Moreover, SwiftKey’s predictive technology aligns with Microsoft’s investments and ambition to develop intelligent systems that can work more on the user’s behalf and under their control.”

Despite the name change, however, SwiftKey remains the app that we already know, only that from this point on, it’s just a little bit more obvious that Microsoft owns the app. And going forward, this is only a good thing, as more people could download SwiftKey because it’s part of the Microsoft brand in the first place.