Microsoft has shown interest in both Android and iOS but not with devices but rather with apps. Most of the company’s popular and unpopular apps have been making their way into these different platforms and the company has been offering them free to users.
The company’s latest move in the apps market is its acquisition of SwiftKey, the popular Android and iOS keyboard. Microsoft has paid $250 million for the company behind this popular third party keyboard that has been downloaded over 300 million times from the Apple App store and Google Play store combined.
As I have mentioned above, SwiftKey is one of the most popular third party keyboard out there. I personally use the app and its intuitive and easy to use nature has made it my default keyboard app that I download every time I get a new phone.
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SwiftKey is free to download but this has not been the case since the beginning. Initially, it was a paid app until 2014 when the company decided to turn it into a free app. The app still makes money for its developers through in app purchases.
In a statement, the company, “Our number one focus has always been to build the best possible products for our users. This will not change. Our apps will continue to be available on Android and iOS, for free. We are as committed as ever to improving them in new and innovative ways.”
Microsoft’s own keyboard, Word Flow, is currently available exclusively for Windows Phone devices but will soon make its way to the other platforms, Android and iOS. Microsoft may have acquired SwiftKey not because of its popularity but rather for its technology, especially its artificial intelligence technology. This is the technology that has made SwiftKey one of the best and most reliable keyboard apps out there.
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