Microsoft has updated Swiftkey app to version 7.0 for Android and iOS, which is a major update since it acquired it back in 2016. The update brings new Toolbar to easily access Themes, Clipboard and more on Android and iOS. The toolbar replaces the existing Hub on Android. It also brings Stickers / Emoji that you can add your messages as they are, or edit them to add your own style and personality to a message and GIFs powered by GIPHY. It will also get new Location sharing and Calendar sharing features.
The update also brings 8 new ‘Lish’ languages for Indian users. It has compatibility for over 40 Indian languages as well as transliteration and layout options.
New features in Swiftkey 7.0 for Android and iOS
- Toolbar offers a new way to get faster and easier access to favorite SwiftKey features. Just tap the “+” on the left of the prediction bar to give it a try.
- Stickers gives even more ways to express yourself beyond words.
- Save your favorite Stickers – edited or otherwise – and access them later in Collections, found by tapping on the ‘pin’ icon on the Toolbar. (Only on Android)
- GIFs: express yourself and liven up your messages by picking from 1,000s of GIFs all from within SwiftKey
- Search: Find the perfect emoji or GIF in a flash. Find search in the Toolbar
- Location sharing (available to US and India) makes it easy to insert the address of a nearby location in a message (Coming soon)
- Calendar sharing lets you insert a calendar appointment with a couple of taps (Coming soon)
- 8 new ‘Lish’ languages: Assamese (English), Bengali (English), Kannada (English), Malayalam (English), Marathi (English), Nepali (English), Odia (English), Telugu (English) that lets people shift seamlessly between English and Indic languages
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Chris Wolfe, Principal Product Manager at SwiftKey, said:
People are using more and more GIFs, stickers and emoji. Our research shows that 77% of Indian smartphone users insert stickers at least several times a week. The objective of SwiftKey 7.0 is to make these faster and easier than ever before. Toolbar makes that possible, as well as offering more personalized content that SwiftKey users can store in Collections.
Today’s release shows our ambition to improve users’ experience with rich media. We’ll soon bring support for Calendar sharing as well as Location sharing in India and the US, continuing our commitment to bring the best possible typing experience to our users in India.
We remain committed to making regular typing as fast and easy as possible, for the Indian consumer. In this release, we are including 8 new ‘Lish’ languages which allows more Indian users to communicate in their preferred style. With the support of Microsoft, you can expect to see more innovations in both regular and rich media typing coming soon.