Skip to content

10 Things You Should Know About SwiftKey Keyboard

A perfect keyboard is very important part of your Android experience. This could single handedly make a large difference to how much, how often and how efficiently you use your smartphone. Swiftkey is one such keyboard which more than doubled its user base in one month from going free. The keyboard learns with time and safely stores what it grasps on cloud. We got to have a little chat with Josh Greenwald, Community Support Manager at SwiftKey . Read on to know more.

Q) How is Swiftkey different from other keyboards on android?

A)We believe our strengths are in adapting to the way that individual user types, not the other way round. SwiftKey uses artificial intelligence to understand the way users write, creating a personalized typing experience. It also saves users time, eliminates typos and lets them type in several languages at the same time, from English to Hindi – no settings required.

Q)What initiative Swiftkey are taking to get more Indian User using it?


A) Firstly we need to let more people know they can upgrade their keyboard to one that learns from them and speaks the languages they speak. And it’s free! Many people don’t yet know the benefits of this – it’s easy, fast, fun typing and enables you to get more done – or the features SwiftKey brings such as swipe-typing method SwiftKey Flow, fun emoji, lots of colours and customization.

For our Indian-speaking users we have also introduced a range of new languages including Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, Bengali and Punjabi. We appreciate that people want to be able to write in their own languages, quickly and easily without the hassle of changing settings.

We’re also looking for partners and mobile manufacturers who can speed up our distribution. We’ll be spending more time here, engaging with our users, influencers and partners who believe in what we offer. The theme we created for Diwali last year was a really successful bestseller. Also, languages like Hinglish have been doing incredibly well for us. So we’re going to build over these successes in the year ahead.

image

Q) How to handle Auto Capitalization with URL and Email Strings in Swiftkey?

A) Currently we do have a URL mode that we offer with SwiftKey Keyboard for Android. This was actually something that our Community posted a blog post about last year. As a team we are always looking to improve the typing experience and typing URLS and email addresses in an easier way is an excellent example of that. We definitely recognize that there is always more work to be done in this area.

Currently, all you have to do is make sure you are typing in lowercase. For example, if you wanted to type a URL at the beginning of a sentence, just tap on the ‘shift’ key (the arrow key on the bottom left of the keyboard) twice to bring it to lowercase. From there, you can easily enter URLs that start with ‘www.’ If you’re typing a URL mid-sentence, starting with ‘www’ or ‘http://’ will automatically put SwiftKey Keyboard into URL mode.

Q) How can someone transfer SwiftKey settings from one android device to other?

A) This is a great question. We have many users that often want to know more about using SwiftKey across their Android devices or across Android/iOS. Through our SwiftKey Cloud service, we offer the ability sync and personalize predictions as well as purchases through our theme store. At this point, we have not yet added options for syncing app settings on multiple devices. It’s a tricky balance with adding options and maintaining a fast and reliable service.

image

Q) How do I fix a haptic feedback that is too strong with SwiftKey?

A) SwiftKey Keyboard for Android offers the option to enable or disable haptic feedback within the app settings. In Settings under “Sound & Vibration” there is a checkbox under “Vibration” where you can uncheck “Keypress Vibration.” There are some instances where haptic feedback can be stronger on certain devices. We’ve noticed this in our testing but unfortunately since the values for haptic feedback are set by the device manufacturer it’s not something we have direct control over with regards to intensity of vibration.

Q) Swiftkey can be really useful at times with swipe but can swipe be disabled?

A) SwiftKey allows you to write by gliding your finger on the keyboard through SwiftKey Flow. It predicts as you flow – once you see the word you want just lift your finger off. You can switch seamlessly between flowing and tapping – there’s no need to change modes. You can disable/enable Flow with SwiftKey Keyboard for Android by following the below steps.

· Go into SwiftKey Settings

· Tap ‘Input Methods’

· Check/uncheck ‘Flow’

image

Q) How does auto correct work on SwiftKey and how can you stop it from correcting some words?

A) Auto correct is designed to work without the user having to think about how it works. If you do happen to see a word that is corrected when it shouldn’t be, we offer “retrospective correction” which means that when you tap a word, the cursor will go to the end of the word and the predictions shown will give you alternatives for that word.

If it’s a word that you have recently typed or flowed then the alternatives will be based on the letters that you tapped or the shape that you flowed. If the word is further back in your piece of text, the alternatives will be based on the letters that are currently there.

Q) Can SwiftKey take voice as input to type, can Hinglish words be typed through it this way?

A) Voice input (aka Voice to text) is turned on by default with SwiftKey Keyboard for Android. Within the keyboard, just longpress on the microphone/comma button in the lower left (next to the 123 key). SwiftKey utilizes Google Voice functionality to power this feature so the availability of Hinglish words would hinge on whether they are available. With that said, we’ve noticed that some common words/phrases like “machi chips” do appear.

Q) Why a User should install SwiftKey not any other third party keyboard?

A) We believe in our technology adapting to you, not the other way round – SwiftKey replaces your default keyboard with one that adapts from the way you type. We want typing to be made much easier, particularly if you speak more than one language at a time and want to switch seamlessly between them without changing any settings. In our latest update we launched a wealth of Indian languages, including Assamese, Bengali, Gujurati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Nepali and Sinhali. As a company we want to make it our mission to reach as many people around the world as possible and on Android we now support 81 languages worldwide.

Q) When is SwiftKey coming to Windows Phone platform?

A) As a company, we are committed to providing the best possible experience across touch screen devices. While it’s hard to rule out any opportunities in this area, our current resources and focus remain on creating the best possible typing experience on the Android and iOS platforms.

nv-author-image

Deepak Singh

The Author spent a significant chunk of his formative years resisting technology. He now keeps an eye on where the world is heading to, and drives a passive pleasure from this indulgence. His passion to write, learn and improve drives him each day. When his day ends, he enjoys the pleasant languor and detoxifies with family. You can connect with him on and Twitter

Tags: