Swiftkey will now be offered as free Android app
Posted by: Jon Ben-Mayor on 06/11/2014 09:42 AM
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Swiftkey has announced that their best selling Android keyboard app will now be offered free. This shift comes alongside an update to the app that introduces dozens of new free and premium keyboard themes, giving users more customization choices for their on-screen typing experience.
According to the press release, today’s transition to free gives all Google Play users access to that award-winning software at zero cost. This means that all of the market-leading features that have defined SwiftKey’s success as a paid app are now completely free. The move accelerates SwiftKey’s ambition to reach millions of new users, especially in developing economies. It also creates a more sustainable business model in the app, where users can choose to pay for themes and other content to further enhance their experience.
In making the transition, SwiftKey is rewarding loyal users who have previously paid for the app. These users can download a $4.99 “Premier Pack” of 10 themes free of charge. The app’s core functionality remains intact.
In addition to new themes, today’s update brings several other user-requested improvements. Support for over 800 emoji is now integrated directly into the keyboard, with a new prediction feature that learns how emoji are used and predicts them as you type.*
An optional dedicated number row is now available for the keyboard, making it easier to input numbers. SwiftKey’s word prediction engine has also been improved, with better autocorrect and more accurate gesture typing, and new global languages have been added, bringing the total number supported to 66.
SwiftKey co-founder and CEO Jon Reynolds said: “This is the start of an incredibly exciting phase for us as a business. We have made the decision to go free to better enable everyone, everywhere, to use SwiftKey’s market-leading technology without payment being a barrier. We’re focused not only on reaching more users with our powerful technology, but on building great content and features to engage them.”
SwiftKey co-founder and CTO Ben Medlock said: “With the latest version of SwiftKey Keyboard, we’re providing an even more intuitive and personalized experience for our users, which they’re increasingly expecting. We’ve expanded our design team to focus on developing creative and beautiful user experiences. Our commitment to innovation has never been stronger and we are looking forward to sharing more exciting developments in the future.”
"Are we going to build SwiftKey Keyboard for iOS8? Of course we are. We’ve already started," the founders told the Guardian in a statement. "We’re delighted Apple has decided to embrace the importance of opening its platform to third party keyboards… Our technology features on more than 200 million devices to date and we can’t wait to reach more."
According to the press release, today’s transition to free gives all Google Play users access to that award-winning software at zero cost. This means that all of the market-leading features that have defined SwiftKey’s success as a paid app are now completely free. The move accelerates SwiftKey’s ambition to reach millions of new users, especially in developing economies. It also creates a more sustainable business model in the app, where users can choose to pay for themes and other content to further enhance their experience.In making the transition, SwiftKey is rewarding loyal users who have previously paid for the app. These users can download a $4.99 “Premier Pack” of 10 themes free of charge. The app’s core functionality remains intact.
In addition to new themes, today’s update brings several other user-requested improvements. Support for over 800 emoji is now integrated directly into the keyboard, with a new prediction feature that learns how emoji are used and predicts them as you type.*
An optional dedicated number row is now available for the keyboard, making it easier to input numbers. SwiftKey’s word prediction engine has also been improved, with better autocorrect and more accurate gesture typing, and new global languages have been added, bringing the total number supported to 66.
SwiftKey co-founder and CEO Jon Reynolds said: “This is the start of an incredibly exciting phase for us as a business. We have made the decision to go free to better enable everyone, everywhere, to use SwiftKey’s market-leading technology without payment being a barrier. We’re focused not only on reaching more users with our powerful technology, but on building great content and features to engage them.”
SwiftKey co-founder and CTO Ben Medlock said: “With the latest version of SwiftKey Keyboard, we’re providing an even more intuitive and personalized experience for our users, which they’re increasingly expecting. We’ve expanded our design team to focus on developing creative and beautiful user experiences. Our commitment to innovation has never been stronger and we are looking forward to sharing more exciting developments in the future.”
"Are we going to build SwiftKey Keyboard for iOS8? Of course we are. We’ve already started," the founders told the Guardian in a statement. "We’re delighted Apple has decided to embrace the importance of opening its platform to third party keyboards… Our technology features on more than 200 million devices to date and we can’t wait to reach more."
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