Swiftkey keyboard updates with a new HD skin, 5 new languages, holiday trial period

By Phil Nickinson
last updated

Swiftkey, one of our favorite keyboards for Android -- just got a pretty major update. The already stellar key design is now even better, with an HD skin and better fonts. Five languages have been added, as well as five new keyboard layouts. There have been a fair amount of bugfixes, and the trial version of the keyboard (the full version is $3.99) has been increased to 31 days as a holiday promotion.

Swiftkey might not be your favorite keyboard, but it definitely warrants a look. We've got download links after the break, and you can find the full release notes at the source. [Swiftkey]

Phil Nickinson
Phil Nickinson
41 Comments
  • I've used it, and ill check out his "HD" skin. But I'm pretty stuck on "Better Keyboard" with the black keys skin
  • oh.. I like the idea of a black skin change hmmm
  • Updated and love it.. now it doesn't look like crap now is only they could work some swiftkey like action into it..
  • good thing, swiftkey was so ugly! but, i'm pretty stuck on Ultra. being able to adjust the key size and customize the look (completely, not just pick a darker theme) do it for me. that and the swype-like tracing add up to one i just can't leave. i keep trying to really like swiftkey, but i'm just not a fan...
  • Love the keyboard just wish they would add more color skins. Seems to be lagging a bit as well.
  • Idk about lag. I just came back to this article to point out how much faster my messaging app is after this update. Also looks much clearer, except somehow the increased resolution?? actually makes the keys appear smaller even though they aren't.
  • This is my keyboard of choice even though I alternate weekly between Swiftkey and Swype. I do agree with the keys looking smaller due to the higher resolution.
  • Yeah, I'm pretty much stuck with better keyboard. This one looks pretty nice, I must admit. But I just like better keyboard more. Just a preference. Lol. - Fascinate
  • Its a whole different concept than Better. It predicts words before you even type a single letter, just by knowing that squat always follows didly. Plus it learns your text pattern so pretty soon you are typing entire sentences with one tap per word. No other keyboard does this.
  • Exactly. When I first tried it I went "meh" then tried a few other keyboards. But it wasn't until I went back to Swiftkey and used it for a few days that I realized how great it is. The more you use it the better it gets. Now, the only other form of input I use besides Swiftkey is voice to text which is easy to jump to even in the middle of texting with this app.
  • I'm getting too use to Swype. I haven't actually typed on my Evo in months now.
  • Awesome. I am glad I check Android Central regularly. I missed this update. Downloading now and going install. I keep switching between SwiftKey and Swype. For some reason I look less silly typing than Swyping. :)
  • Really great, I don't miss this upgrade :)
  • Hello Phil, You've done a great work, I check androidcentral everyday. I have a free app giveaway news, But don't how to post like you :)
  • I really like the update. Makes the best keyboard even better.
  • oh look...ANOTHER reason to love this keyboard!
  • n00b question: sorry to jump into this conversation, but I figured it would be the right place to ask ...
    I've got an EVO and have (I guess) a hacked version of Swype, which works brilliantly, but was just invited to the beta -can anyone please tell me if I should give up the hacked version to switch to the beta, or just leave it alone?
    thanks for your replies!
  • If your current swype works fine you have no reason to change, but the beta is most likely more up to date than your hacked version. A new beta was sent out recently i believe but no info on changelog.
    IMO, if it ain't broke don't fix it. You will get emails periodically for new updates.
  • thanks, cbzy11 - I had a feeling that would be the right way to go ;o)
  • I love that swiftkey learns the things I say, but I finally got the swype beta and I'm super amused with it right now.
  • This makes typing on my Droid Pro even better. Hardware keyboard along with Swiftkey's excellent text prediction. :)
  • This keyboard seemed like a good idea, but its unusable in portrait mode on my Hero. I can't type on the tiny screen unless I have a compact qwerty. Would love if I could use the word prediction with the stock compact qwerty as the built in prediction is lacking big time. My phone looooves to auto insert words that don't exist like "dibnt" is the first choice instead of didn't! It also inserts a capital "I" in the middle of any word that isn't in the dictIonary (like that haha).
  • Started out with swype on my SGS and got this too because of a review I had read on here. Even after I bought the paid version I was still using swype. One day I decided to try swiftkey again and haven't looked back. I just updated to Froyo last week and did a factory reset to make sure all the bugs got shook out and so now I have to start over with SK's word prediction. :( I was averaging one letter typed per word before reset. Love this keyboard and the update looks great. Thanks AC for introducing this to me before I had even got my first Android. XD
  • I'm very happy with the update. I like to switch between this and swype a lot but I think I'll stay here for awhile
  • swype sucks because it has a mind of its own, it gets me really pissed off, because when it writes the wrong word, i hit the swype button, and right on top is the right word i meant to type in the first place... sometimes im like wtf. i switch between this, swype (beta), and voice to text of course.
  • Can we get a hybrid of Swype and Swift? Swyfte maybe?
  • Better keyboard without the voice and period keys is the nuts. Don't need anything else.
  • I quite like SwiftKey but it is lacking two things: multitouch support and an option to turn off the automatic insertion of a whitespace at the end of a word. Thus it is Smart Keyboard Pro for me.
  • Smart Keyboard Pro is also my keyboard of choice simply because of the customization possible and it just seems to type faster for me. I love that you can even customize the 'long press' time. No other keyboard beats it IMHO.
  • What notepad app is that?
  • I've used SwiftKey for a few months and love the text prediction - very efficient. I can't figure out how to install this update / how to switch skins, though. When I go to the SwiftKey market page, it says I've already purchased the appapplication (which I have). Feeling kind of stupid - am I missing something?
  • <> I'm in the Same boat...can anybody throw us a help line on this one?
  • Got it to work - I powered the phone off then on. Upon entering the market, SwiftKey was stuck on 'download complete', so I had to hit the 'cancel download' button, then restart the download. After that it downloaded and installed in about 30 seconds.
  • Best keyboard so far! I keep going back to it and I have tried a lot of them. Just give it a few days/week for it to learn your patterns and it gets very efficient to type. It remembers your names, email addresses etc... My only suggestion is to turn the input settings-long-press duration down, I use 440ms.
  • Another suggestion, turn off auto complete or auto accept with suggestion. It will keep you from typing "homo" when you push "gimp"...Ha! ScottWo
  • Love love love this update. My biggest complaint with Swiftkey was the buttons being too close together. This slick skin combined with its word anticiaption make it the keyboard to beat. Ive been waiting for Skype only for the novelty and have tried SlideIt & Grafitti with zero excitement. Worth the price. Give it a try, youll see:) ScottWo
  • Even though Swype is an excellent key board, i still managed to make typos, with SwiftKey i rarely if ever make mistakes. I also didn't think much of it at first but after a few days of using it, I realized how superior SwiftKey is to the otbers. This by far is my key board of choice and don't use anything else. I'm liking the update, seems to load faster.
  • I would like to suggest the option to turn off predictive text messaging when certain apps are launched. I dunno if this could be done, but it would be nice. When I play pocket legends I can't chat properly sometimes because of the predictive text messaging.
  • I have the old version of this mobile. Now I want to exchange it with the new one. I hope I can do it.
    Zetaclear
  • I invite everybody to try A.I.type beta for Android (available for FREE on the market). Our revolutionary A.I. based text prediction will save you most of your keystrokes. Feedback is much appreciated!
  • Is there any reason to worry about this tracking your personal info. I read the aggrement and it did say something about tracking your info.