SwiftKey is unexpectedly back on iOS

It’s returned! | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Microsoft’s SwiftKey keyboard has unexpectedly returned to the App Store. The company officially discontinued support for the keyboard and removed it from the App Store in October, but now it’s available for iOS users once again.

“Based on customer feedback, SwiftKey iOS has been relisted on the Apple App Store,” Microsoft’s Caitlin Roulston said in statement to The Verge. “Please visit Support.SwiftKey.com for more information.”

Despite the return, SwiftKey’s latest update is still from August 11th, 2021. It’s unclear if or when it will be updated — users had complained about issues ahead of the discontinuation — but it seems like there will be some changes to look forward to. Vishnu Nath, Microsoft’s VP and GM of OneNote and the Office product group, encouraged fans to “stay tuned to what the team has in store.” Pedram Rezaei, Microsoft’s CTO of its maps and local services division, said that the company will be “investing heavily in the keyboard.”

SwiftKey originally became popular on Android and eventually launched on iOS in 2014 with the release of iOS 8, which enabled users to install third-party keyboards. Microsoft then acquired SwiftKey in 2016. The app has remained available on Android.