Microsoft has purchased keyboard software developer
SwiftKey, adding it to its own keyboard software, Word Flow. The software is
used to make it easier and faster to type on a smartphone touchscreen by
finding patterns that identify words users are trying to type.
SwiftKey’s work with artificial-intelligence techniques
to speed up typing was part of the reason for the purchase, according to a
report in PC World.
A new SwiftKey keyboard launched last fall has shown it can provide users more
privacy and security by doing a better job of predicting words to use.
The surprise part of the move is that Word Flow is releasing
versions for Android and iOS keyboards’ software, something already offered by
SwiftKey. Microsoft has no plans to shut down either SwiftKey app, according to
Harry Schum, executive vice president for technology and research for
Microsoft.
“We’ll
continue to develop SwiftKey’s market-leading keyboard apps for Android and
iOS, as well as explore scenarios for the integration of the core technology
across the breadth of our product and service portfolio,” Schum wrote in a blog post announcing the acquisition.
