Swype Keyboard app discontinued on Android and iOS

The popular keyboard application Swype has officially been discontinued. (Source: Swype)

Nuance will stop the development of the Swype Keyboard app for iOS and Android. The company has ceased all support for the standalone application and will focus its efforts on built-in keyboards for phone manufacturers instead.

Jonathan Maes, Published 02/20/2018

Swype was one of the first alternative keyboards to hit the Google Play Store and was later released on iOS as well. The keyboard app became popular thanks to its feature of swiping words together instead of typing each letter separately. Nuance, known for its speech-to-text programs, acquired Swype in 2011 and the company has announced that the standalone application Swype Keyboard is now discontinued on both major platforms. Nuance states that their focus for Swype has been shifted to the business market.

Nuance will no longer be offering the Swype keyboard on the iOS app store. 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.

Nuance officially announced the removal of the iOS app on their Zendesk page and the app is no longer available to download in the App Store. At the moment of writing, the Swype Keyboard app is still available for purchase in the Google Play Store for $0.99, although the company has made clear via their customer service that the Android application will no longer be supported as well.

The swiping functionality that Swype was known for has been integrated into many other keyboard apps, including the standard Google keyboard that's installed on every Android device. In terms of alternatives, Swiftkey is a popular replacement for Swype that is free to download on both iOS and Android.