Swype VP confirms talks with Apple on revolutionary keyboard technology | Hacker News Reader

Swype VP confirms talks with Apple on revolutionary keyboard technology

9to5mac.com

10 pointsagodoy15 comments

I haven't used Swype, but I have been using the equivalent keyboard on Android 4.2 on my Galaxy Nexus, while I wait for my BlackBerry Z10 LE.

Honestly, I haven't used a better keyboard than what's on BlackBerry 10. Keyboards on Android and iOS are a pain to use in comparison. The swiping keyboard on 4.2 is pretty good, but still not the same. Everyone lives with it because there isn't a better alternative. However, keyboards and input methods are a big part of our experience with computing devices.

And to be frank, Android is the only ecosystem where such innovation can occur. Due to the platform choices of Apple, Microsoft, and BlackBerry, you can't implement a meaningful keyboard alternative, so no one bothers trying. The fact that Swype is an Android-based product being pitched to Apple highlights this issue.

I do think swype was marginally better than the Google gesture input. Though not enough that I've tried getting it on my N4. I think it could work well for Apple.

Of course I'm not likely to ever buy an iPhone or BB device.

Is Swype still relevant? It was great when it launched, but it wasn't available in the Play store until, what, ten days ago? It was available in Samsung phones, but nothing else that I'm aware of.

As far as I can see, nobody was actually able to use Swype, apart from people who got a Samsung phone with it preinstalled. Almost every single keyboard, the stock Android keyboard included, has this technology by now.

How come people are still talking about Swype?

Yes, it's still relevant.

It was a big deal when SwiftKey and Android 4.2 implemented its own version of "Swype" and both promoted it. I've used all three KBs and prefer Swype because it's the most accurate for me.

Not being available in Play store doesn't mean you can't get it. You just go to their website, sign for the beta, then you download the apk. ANYONE could do this.

Oh, that's another thing. Why have they been in beta for, what, five years now?

Actually, they aren't in beta anymore with it being on the Play store so I guess that was their criteria for being in it for so long.

Just looked.. and given the permissions they are asking for I can only assume the app is bundled with spyware. Shame, as I actually liked/missed swype since my last phone, but not enough to deal with spyware apps.

Firstly there are a lot of people who are using Samsung phones. Secondly, I believe other Android phones also come with keyboard that has Swype features. My nexus 4 has the feature and my friend 's HTC has it too. Thirdly, a lot of keyboard apps in Play store basically does the same thing (i.e. Slideit, SwiftKey and touchpal). Basically, almost everyone who use android phones Swype sometimes.

Swype features aren't the same as actual Swype, though. The stock Android keyboard just has copied swipe-typing.

My droid razr came with it preinstalled as well

>As far as I can see, nobody was actually able to use Swype, apart from people who got a Samsung phone with it preinstalled.

Swype Beta has been available since 2010 and could be installed on anything as far as I know. It required signing up via email and downloading an APK though. I'm not sure why they didn't publicize it more.

>How come people are still talking about Swype?

In my opinion, it's far superior to the native Android implementation and Swiftkey.

Swiftkey Flow is a bit more responsive than Swype and I switched to it for a while to see if it could unseat Swype as my prime keyboard, but I eventually found major problems with its accuracy and predictions. I should have kept a list, there were certain words that proved impossible to enter to matter how precise the input. I also found that it occasionally (often enough to be irritating) refused to function as a "swipable" keyboard.

The Android keyboard is pretty bare bones relative to both Swiftkey Flow and Swype.

Both the Android keyboard and Swiftkey were lacking some very useful shortcuts present Swype for launching a numberic keypad, capitalization and text selection/manipulation.

I agree with you, it just seems to me that Swype was very... unorthodox in its development. They spent years not publicizing it, the development process was opaque (not that SwiftKey is more open), etc.

SwiftKey definitely has its flaws too. There are some persistent bugs that just don't get fixed. I find it very odd that companies with products so popular act as if they're abandoned.

I'm as puzzled as you are about exactly the same things.

I think it says a lot that I was genuinely surprised when Swype finally showed up on Play. I'd written it off as forever sideloaded and not totally compatible. Likewise, I have no expectation of niggling bugs in SwiftKey ever being fixed.

As I recall, both Swype and Swiftkey annoyingly expired their beta packages from time to time and both used confusing non/not-quite mobile pages for sign up and to download updates.

Baffling.

Swype has had iOS demos since they launched. The source of this article doesn't prove anything other than that Apple and Swype have talked in the past, which is only logical.

Sounds like they couldn't come to any agreement though. From the comments in the reddit post the VP (and probably most people at Swype) just want an Apple deal and it's Apple that won't go through with it.

Never had a good experience using Swype on Android.

I much prefer SwiftKey on my samsung S3: http://www.swiftkey.net/

Reply on news.ycombinator.com