SwiftKey Keyboard for iOS Updated With Emoji, Flow Typing on iPad - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

SwiftKey Keyboard for iOS Updated With Emoji, Flow Typing on iPad

by

SwiftKey is one of the most popular third-party keyboard options on iOS, and today it received a major update adding a highly requested feature -- emoji. Emoji can be accessed by tapping on the smiley at the bottom of the keyboard, and there's also a new predictive emoji tool that learns the most frequently used emoji and suggests them while typing.

swiftkeykeyboard

We've built emoji right into SwiftKey Keyboard so you can now express yourself when words don't quite cut it. Just as it learns the words and phrases that matter to you, SwiftKey also learns and predicts which emoji you use most often so you can spend less time looking for that perfect smiley (or slice of pizza -- whatever you're into).

Using a lot of emoji in text will cause emoji to pop up more frequently in the word prediction box, making it easier to insert fun characters into text.

Today's update also includes SwiftKey Flow for the iPad, a feature that was previously limited to the iPhone. With SwiftKey Flow, it's possible to type faster via swiping on the screen. Finally, there are also 11 new languages available in SwiftKey, including Bulgarian, Croatian, Greek, Hinglish, Icelandic, Indonesian, Latvian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, and Turkish.

SwiftKey Keyboard for iOS can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Top Rated Comments

CrAkD Avatar
150 months ago
I'm all done with 3rd party keyboards until apple fixes the implementation. I want to smash my 6+ in s million pieces everytime I need to type something and the keyboard doesn't pop out.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Traverse Avatar
150 months ago
I'ved tried several third party keyboards (my favorite being Flesky), but I always end up back with the default Apple keyboard. 3rd party implementation is still buggy, still poses a privacy concern (albeit mild), and I've honestly never had an issues using the stock keyboard.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
150 months ago
Now just needs dictation and I'll be all set!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
avanpelt Avatar
150 months ago
Apple's implementation of third-party keyboard support has been sloppy, at best.

It's almost like Apple is being passive-aggressive with their users:

"You want third-party keyboards? We told you that we make the best keyboard and now we're going to prove it to you! Want to use dictation with third-party keyboards? Sorry, you can't do that. Want the third-party keyboard to pop up reliably every time you tap a text field? Not gonna happen. Want the text input from the third-party keyboard to be able to reliably fill out web forms? Not a chance in hell. Here, users, are the third-party keyboards you've whined about for years. But guess what? The experience sucks just like we told you it would; but hey, at least you got what you wanted!"

Of course, we didn't get what we wanted. I'm cautiously optimistic that iOS 9 will fix the third-party keyboard issues and finally let us modify which apps are the defaults for certain tasks. We'll see...
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jessica Lares Avatar
150 months ago
I am enjoying the emoji bar I have in Nintype. Yes, it is crazy complicated to setup, but once you do it, it's a blast to use. I have one bar for numbers, then one bar for my favorite emoji, then another for markdown shortcuts. I'm also using the globe button to automatically insert the date, and have some other shortcuts within the shift key. I moved a lot of my TextExpander shortcuts to be within the letters too. There is a specific bit that you can write so it moves to the next line in a shortcut, but I haven't messed with that yet.

Needless to say, it replaced the majority of the keyboards I was interested in using.

I wish it had iCloud syncing and had a library of little pictures to represent shortcuts though. But that's not really an issue in general.

I have used SwiftKey on Android. I wish the iOS version was more like it. That's why I ended up deleting it when it first came out.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mattopotamus Avatar
150 months ago
Would prefer SwiftKey over Swype, but SwiftKey doesn't automatically place a space after a comma or period. Heaven knows why not ...

Are you sure it is not in the settings? For android phones it is in the swiftkey settings.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple Working on All-New Operating System

Wednesday July 29, 2026 11:39 am PDT by
Apple is developing an all-new operating system that is essentially a mix of tvOS, watchOS, and iOS, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In a report this week, he said the operating system will feature a grid of icons, widgets, and apps, along with customizable clock faces. The new software platform is intended for Apple's long-rumored smart home hub. With built-in facial recognition,...
imac video apple feature

Apple Made Its Second-Biggest Acquisition Ever This Year

Wednesday July 29, 2026 12:03 pm PDT by
Apple this year acquired Israeli startup Q.ai for close to $2 billion, according to the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone maker Beats in 2014. This is also the largest known Apple acquisition since the company purchased Intel's smartphone modem business and patents for $1 billion in 2019. Q.ai...
Dynamic Island iPhone 18 Pro Feature

iPhone 18 Pro: Twelve Changes Coming to Apple's Next Flagship

Thursday July 30, 2026 3:43 am PDT by
We're less than two months out from the launch of Apple's premium next-generation smartphone lineup, and while we're not expecting a dramatic change in terms of functionality, there are still several enhancements rumored to be coming to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth noting is that Apple is reportedly planning a major change to its iPhone release cycle this year,...

🔗 Related Apple News & Rumors

Stay updated with the latest Apple ecosystem news and verified rumors