Development on Swype Keyboard for Android Has Been Discontinued

BY Rajesh Pandey

Published 20 Feb 2018

Remember Swype? The keyboard that was once famous for introducing swipe typing on smartphones? Well, Nuance, the developer of the keyboard, has confirmed that it is no longer in development for Android.

The keyboard was once very popular and was the choice of power users. It even started coming pre-installed as the default keyboard on smartphones from Huawei and other OEMs. However, over time, its development slowed down greatly and it was surpassed by other keyboards in terms of features.

Below is the message that Nuance delivered to a Swype user in a response to an issue raised by him:

Nuance will no longer be updating the Swype+Dragon keyboard for Android. We’re sorry to leave the direct-to-consumer keyboard business, but this change is necessary to allow us to concentrate on developing our AI solutions for sale directly to businesses.

We hope you enjoyed using Swype, we sure enjoyed working with the Swype community.

The lack of development means the keyboard will no longer receive new features or bug fixes, though its functionality is not going to be affected in any way.

At one point, you’d have found quite a few third-party keyboards on the Play Store with their own fair share of users. However, as things stand right now, Gboard and SwiftKey are two of the most popular keyboards for Android devices and the choice of most users. Gboard is owned by Google while SwiftKey was acquired by Microsoft. Both keyboards are frequently updated with new features and support plethora of languages.

If you are a Swype user, its time for you to make the transition to another keyboard. The keyboard will continue to remain available on the Play Store for download so you can take your time in making the switch.

[Via XDA]