Swiftkey goes free on Android

Swiftkey team has announced that the keyboard app is now available for free to all Android users. The team has also pushed a major update for the app in Google Play, which introduces Swiftkey store, new default theme, Emojis, Number row, support for new languages and more.

If you are an existing paid user and feel cheated, Swiftkey team is offering all paid users a premier pack of 10 new premium themes for free.

Coming to the details of the update, the new Swiftkey store houses 30 new free and premium themes and will be regularly refreshed. In addition, the app now included a new SwiftKey ‘Nickel’ default theme, which you can check later in the report.

Among other changes, the keyboard packs support for emojis and you can choose from over 800 emoji as you type, however emojis will only be accessible on devices running Android 4.1 or above. This is not all, Swiftkey’s prediction algorithm will also suggest emojis when you type based on your usage. To enable this, go to Settings > Advanced and check the box marked ‘Emoji prediction’. The prediction engine has also been improved and features better multilingual capabilities, meaning you can now type in up to three languages at once with even better accuracy.
While we are on the topic of languages, Swiftkey update brings support for Belarusian, Mongolian, Tatar, Uzbek and Welsh languages.

Lastly, the keyboard now packs number row, which can be enabled by going to Settings > Layout, as well as new and improved Flow trails, which offer better visbility and more accurate output.

“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,” said SwiftKey co-founder and CEO Jon Reynolds.

Here is a recap of the Swiftkey update:

• SwiftKey Store, with 30+ new themes and counting
• New beautiful default theme
• Emoji support, with over 800 to choose from
• Emoji prediction and learning
• Optional dedicated number row
• Improved prediction engine and Flow accuracy
• New languages
• New, improved Flow trails