SwiftKey, Android's favorite keyboard, finally comes to iOS — as SwiftKey Note!
SwiftKey Note brings the power and precision of one of the worlds best virtual keyboards, along with the convenience of Evernote sync, to the iPhone and the iPad for the first time. SwiftKey is an incredibly intelligent virtual keyboard that's been winning fans on Android — and getting embedded into devices — for years. Since Apple doesn't allow third party keyboards out of apps, SwiftKey had to take their technology inside. So, why a note-taking app?
SwiftKey is all about speed and accuracy. Getting what's in your head onto the screen in as quick and correct a manner as possible is their reason for being. What better first entry onto iOS then a note-taking app? I've been using SwiftKey Note during the beta, and as someone who's tried covering events, and tried keeping up as I jot things down in sessions and meetings, SwiftKey Note is terrific.
There is a compromise. Since SwiftKey keyboard can't exist outside the SwiftKey Note for iOS app, they've kept consistent where it matters most. They know no one can build up real muscle memory for a keyboard that exists in only one app, so they've kept the look and layout the same as the default keyboard, and concentrated on enhancing rather than replacing it. And it works really well.
iPhone and iPad users won't be alienated, SwiftKey veterans will be mostly at home, and SwiftKey Note will likely end up being the go-to app for Evernote users who want to power through text input.
Check it out in the App Store now, and let me know what you think!
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SwiftKey Note brings faster note taking to iPhone and iPad
App introduces SwiftKey’s magical word prediction technology to iOS alongside integration with the Evernote Platform
San Francisco, CA, January 30, 2014 - Award-winning personalized technology company SwiftKey® today launched SwiftKey Note, its debut product on the Apple App Store℠. The fastest way to take notes on iPhone® or iPad®, the free app uses artificial intelligence to suggest words in real-time that are tailored to each user’s writing style.
The app features a tight integration with Evernote®, giving users the option to personalize SwiftKey’s word suggestions based on their Evernote archive and providing seamless sync of new SwiftKey Notes onto the platform.
SwiftKey’s hallmark prediction bar above the keyboard makes typing faster and easier. It offers highly personalized auto-corrections and three next-word predictions as a user writes. The app also gets smarter the more it’s used as it adapts to each individual’s writing style.
Joe Braidwood, SwiftKey’s Chief Marketing Officer, said: “With SwiftKey Note, we’ve worked closely with Apple and Evernote to bring all of the power of SwiftKey’s mind-reading prediction technology to iPhone and iPad users everywhere. Whether it’s in the meeting room, lecture hall or grocery store, with SwiftKey Note you can now take much faster notes, getting a more human typing experience from your devices and remembering more of the things that matter in your life.”
Chris Traganos, Head of Developer Outreach at Evernote, said: “Pairing SwiftKey’s predictive keyboard with the Evernote Platform is a transformative experience for creating quick notes. We’re excited to have SwiftKey Note’s two-way sync with Evernote and to build this relationship.”
Today’s launch marks the first time SwiftKey’s word prediction technology has been made available on the App Store. The company is already well known for SwiftKey Keyboard, the best-selling paid app on Google Play™ in 2013. It also partners with major technology companies, software vendors and healthcare providers to provide a more productive, more human typing experience in a range of contexts.
SwiftKey Note’s key features include:
- Faster, easier note taking - with three next-word suggestions and personalized auto-correction;
- It learns from you - the more you write, the more tailored your predictions become;
- Organize your notes - group related notes together in notebooks, label and categorize your notes with tags for easy searching;
- Evernote personalization - let SwiftKey’s prediction technology learn from your archive;
- Evernote sync - sync newly created notes across devices or to the cloud and import and create new notebooks and tags with your Evernote account;
- Easy formatting - swipe the word suggestion bar to the left to reveal bold, italic, underline, indent and bullet points options;
- Share your notes - using AirDrop, Messages, Mail or Copy to Clipboard, as well as Evernote sync;
- Multilingual - get contextual word suggestions in up to three languages simultaneously;
- Track your stats - get real-time analysis of your typing productivity including Efficiency, Keystrokes Saved, Typos Corrected, Words Predicted and Words Completed;
- Easy on-boarding - a fun and engaging tutorial introduces new users to SwiftKey’s prediction technology.
SwiftKey Note currently supports the following languages: English (US), English (UK), French (FR), French (CA), German, Italian, Spanish (ES), Spanish (US)
The app is available globally for free through the App Store and is compatible with iPhones, iPads and iPod touch® devices running iOS 6 or later. Formatting is currently only supported on iOS 7.
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Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.
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As much as I would love to try a new keyboard on iOS I don't see the sense in teasing myself. It won't work anywhere else - no way around it. Whenever I go back to Android a bit and then switch back I always have to retrain my brain to not Swype/Flow/use great auto-predict on iOS. No sense in Trojan horsing myself. Though I would certainly like to.
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Yeah, I'm kind of with you on that. Don't get me wrong; SwiftKey is great. In fact, I think it was the first app I actually paid for when I switched to Android from BlackBerry way back when (I had a harder time than most transitioning to touchscreen typing, and the stock keyboard on the Nexus One was CRAP), and I've been nothing but happy with it since. But switching between keyboards over and over again, especially when the input methods differ so highly between SwiftKey and the iOS keyboard, it just going to keep you in a constant state of confusion. It would be nice if this gets really popular and nudges Apple in the direction of allowing third-party keyboards system-wide, though. Although I'm not holding my breath.
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I agree. Better to use one nice enough universal keyboard for all your apps than to use one great keyboard for just one app. Less confusion, less hassle for everybody.
And yep, I also don't think Apple will allow third-party keyboards in iOS anytime soon. -
I agree. Sent from the iMore App
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I think it's good to at least have the option, too bad that given iOS limitations (and lack of customizations) we have to "use" all kinds of note-taking apps to enjoy other keyboards, just like with Fleksy for example. I'll give it a try though, maybe I end up liking this one, and Evernote sync is a plus IMO.
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We'll the video isn't true .. 6 years after multi touch no one types THAT SLOW.. We'll some people might but not most..The app might be good
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You're not wrong, but showing someone rapidly touch-typing with two thumbs would make for an awkward-looking commercial and prevent you from seeing the interface clearly.
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arrgh. your headline had my hopes up until the very end. IMO the keyboard is the big weak link in the whole apple line of products.
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Better than Vesper? Need another Note Taking app review round up!
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SwiftKey is the only reason I miss about having a Android device. Sent from the iMore App
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pointless to have to use another app just to get that keyboard. not worth it
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Its free...
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I think some folks are missing the bigger picture here. If this is developed into a full API, i could definitely see developers offering swiftkey as an option in other 3rd party apps (like what Fleksy is trying to do). Once enough apps start offering swiftkey as an option, you won't be limited to a single app for using the improved keyboard, but rather a broad range of apps that all incorporate Swiftkey. If it gains enough traction, perhaps it could persuade Apple to look into system-wide keyboard replacements. Just from using Swiftkey note for a few minutes, the keyboard feels much higher quality than some of the other 3rd party options out there.
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I really hope Launch Center Pro is able to make this keyboard available.
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Why? How often do you have to type in LCP and if you do type, how long are the items you are typing?
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I may be mistaken, here, but doesn't Apple's terms in the app store state that an app cannot "recreate functionality already found in iOS"? Or at least something to that effect? Wouldn't, then, building your own keyboard into an app qualify? I know there's been talk for a while of Apple allowing 3rd party keyboards (although I doubt it, from everything I've ever seen in terms of their (Apple's) comments regarding keeping the user experience "consistent") but I just don't know if this is going to be the way to "convince" Apple to pull the trigger on that one. I'm curious to see Apple's reaction to this.
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I don't care about SwiftKey one way or the other but this is an awful advertisement. In the first case, it shows a person typing messages using the software but taking literally two or three times as long (!) to do so than simple thumb-typing would allow. If the keyboard is faster, it stands to reason that the ad should show someone using it , you know .... faster. Secondly, the girl consumer is presented as a complete idiot, so it's as if they are purposely marketing it to stupids. It's like they are saying ... "If you are stupid, you should use SwiftKey."
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It doesn't allow for swiping your finger from one letter to another, which is what makes the Android version "swift". As far as I can tell, you have enter text the same way as with the default iOS keyboard. What this app seems to add in terms of text entry are visual text predictors that could save time for some people. Sent from the iMore App
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Exactly i'm missing the swype option in the app from letter to letter which is why i would want this as a keyboard in iOS. Or at least add more apps to send files to like Any.do, Dropbox text file export.. Sent from the iMore App
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I'll concur with all who don't like the idea of switching between keyboards on the same device. I also prefer consistent usability through tall my apps on both my iOS devices. If, however, Apple would finally loosen the locks, and allow third party option as this in the App Store, to be downloaded as a full replacement to the stock keyboard, then I'd be all about it. And even then I'd still want the same consistency on both devices so would get the same keyboard upgrade on both of them.
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Rene, have you heard anything about making this into an API for other 3rd party apps?
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I just downloaded the app and started playing around a bit. It is a very nice-looking app, and the prediction/auto-correction is nice, but I have a major beef with the note-taking aspect... it doesn't keep bullet points indented when they wrap! Why are so many note-taking apps sucky with bullet points (especially if you want to mix ordered and un-ordered lists)? Am I the only person that heavily relies on Microsoft's OneNote? It does a fantastic job of conforming to any type of data I want to add (mixed ordering, tables, images, etc.), integrates seamlessly with SkyDrive (my cloud storage of choice), and I can access the notes from the desktop version with ease (or copy/paste into Word with zero formatting issues). I love that I can bang out some quick notes, then get back to my office to clean them up and file them away when I'm finished with them. Nothing else compares IMHO.
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Willing to give this a shot. The Evernote integration is an absolute plus. This may replace Drafts for my use case... Sent from the iMore App
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I wish Apple would just buy Swiftkey already.
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That would be admitting SwiftKey is better. ಠ益ಠ
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If I was going to use a replacement keyboard, I would want it to work with every app on my iPhone. Why doesn't Apple just license SwiftKey? Sent from the iMore App
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I would love to use swiftkey on my iPad but not just on notes .. I would buy it now, if it would work on all iPad programs
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If I was going to use a replacement keyboard, I would want it to work with every app on my iPhone. Why doesn't Apple just license SwiftKey? Sent from the iMore App
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I agree
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I tried it, but I didn't find it that much better than the standard keyboard. Perhaps with enough use I would be more proficient with it. Apple wants to keep with a consistent user experience so I'm sure they'll stick with what they have. Remember, Android is the exception for allowing alternate keyboards. Also, only about 8% of Android users use a different keyboard. Sent from the iMore App
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I really don't see much of an advantage to using this if it doesn't have the swiping action. Sure, I suppose the three choices for autocorrect might be an improvement for some, but I'm not going to use this app just for that aspect. I might have kept it if the trademark swipe action was there, but as it is I'll stick with Drafts/Byword/etc.
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This is nice keyboard. Not sure it's worth downloading another note app, just to have this keyboard. Sent from the iMore App