What you need to know
- Microsoft is getting rid of SwiftKey on iOS.
- Support for the keyboard application will end, and it will be delisted from the Apple App Store on October 5, 2022.
- Microsoft will continue to support SwiftKey on Android and use its underlying technology for the touch keyboard on Windows.
Microsoft SwiftKey will no longer be supported on iOS. Additionally, the keyboard application will be delisted from the Apple App Store. Both of these changes will take place on October 5, 2022, as reported by ZDNet. Microsoft confirmed its plans after people on Reddit flagged up that the iOS version of SwiftKey hadn't been updated for a year.
"As of October 5, support for SwiftKey iOS will end and it will be delisted from the Apple App Store. Microsoft will continue support for SwiftKey Android as well as the underlying technology that powers the Windows touch keyboard," said Microsoft. "For those customers who have SwiftKey installed on iOS, it will continue to work until it is manually uninstalled or a user gets a new device. Please visit Support.SwiftKey.com for more information."
Microsoft told ZDNet that SwiftKey will continue to work on iOS for anyone that already has it installed. We attempted to sign in to the keyboard application with a Microsoft account today and were unsuccessful.
When asked about the reasoning for the move, Microsoft told ZDNet that it had nothing more to say.
There's a chance that Microsoft became frustrated with Apple's walled garden approach that prevents certain apps from accessing necessary parts of iOS. It wouldn't be the first time that a Microsoft app ran into the limitations of Apple software. Microsoft Phone Link doesn't work with iOS and cannot connect to iPhones.
While SwiftKey won't be available on iOS after next week, it will continue to be available on Android. SwiftKey's underlying technology also powers the touch keyboard on Windows 11 and Windows 10.
