Shane Cole
Popular Android keyboard alternative SwiftKey came to iOS Thursday with the release of SwiftKey Note, a standalone note-taking application that integrates with digital archiving service Evernote.
SwiftKey's predictive text algorithms are designed to adjust themselves to the user's writing style over time, and the company leverages the Evernote integration to speed up the training process. In addition to the synchronization options offered by Evernote, SwiftKey Note can scan the user's Evernote archive and use that data as training material.
The app's language selection has been pared down slightly from that offered with SwiftKey's Android implementation, shipping with English, Spanish, French, German, and Italian. Users can still type in up to three of those languages at once, however.
SwiftKey's quick formatting options have also made the jump. Swiping toward the left on the suggested word bar will allow users to make text bold or italic, underline words, set indents, and create bulleted lists.
Notes can be organized into categories the company calls "notebooks," and users can apply searchable labels. Sharing is enabled via Apple's AirDrop or iMessage, and notes can also be emailed or copied to the device's clipboard.
SwiftKey Note version 1.6.4 is available now as a free, 10.7-megabyte download from the App Store.
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14 Comments
Tried it. Free version is horrible--ads ads and more ads. It also can't be used in mail, messaging etc. Last but not least, I didn't find the predictive aspects very accurate. Waste of space.
I'm really surprised that it's not mentioned anywhere in the article that this will NOT incorporate the swipe-to-type functionality that made the android app so popular in the first place. I don't really understand why they're not including it at all. Why make the app if you're not going to incorporate the functionality that everyone raves about?
Doesn't Apple prevent users from changing the Apple keyboard?
I'm really surprised that it's not mentioned anywhere in the article that this will NOT incorporate the swipe-to-type functionality that made the android app so popular in the first place. I don't really understand why they're not including it at all. Why make the app if you're not going to incorporate the functionality that everyone raves about?
Swipe to type is less useful on a tablet (you have to move your hands a lot), but the predictive feature IS very useful, in my experience.
I used to use swiftkey on my S2 before making the switch to Apple and, honestly, it's the one thing I miss about android. The predictions become creepily accurate the longer you use it for, and you end up being able to write short texts with nothing more than the first few words and repeated mashing of the space bar to insert suggestions. I don't know how likely it is that Apple will ever allow the installation of third party keyboards for universal ios use, but the default keyboard could seriously do with some improvements. Seems that some people have missed the fact that this is a standalone app with its own keyboard, and not an ios version of swiftkey.