# Swype or Swiftkey? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 23, 2014, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swype-or-swiftkey/699375 "2014-09-23T21:12:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lucretia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@Lucretia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucretia)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2014, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swype-or-swiftkey/699375/1 "2014-09-23T21:12:19Z")
Oh frabjous day! Calloh! Callay! I never hoped to see it, but it seems that iOS 8 is allowing third party keyboards, more specifically _swipe input_ keyboards!! I’m so excited I can’t even stand it…however, as much as I want to run with wild abandon into the arms of my first such keyboard, Swype, I’ve resolved to temper my joy with prudence, lest there be a better choice. So, I put it to you, my super smart SD friends…what are your experiences with Swype/Swiftkey? Should I go back to my old love, or be wooed by the new and mysterious? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2014, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swype-or-swiftkey/699375/2 "2014-09-23T22:08:42Z")
I, and a lot of other people, am having significant trouble getting the latest version of Swiftkey to learn things. Odd things, like the name Jared. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Accident](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Mr.Accident](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Accident)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2014, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swype-or-swiftkey/699375/3 "2014-09-23T23:03:46Z")
I’ve been using Swiftkey on an android for over a year now, and I’ve never had a problem with it. I haven’t ran into the learning thing yet, but I haven’t tried to get it to memorize a new word lately. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swype-or-swiftkey/699375/4 "2014-09-24T00:16:26Z")
I tried SwiftKey for about half an hour and gave up on it. The wonder of swiping wasn’t quite as amazing as I’d been lead to believe and the predictive/autocomplete features seemed virtually the same as the built-in one. I’ll give Apple’s default keyboard another week or so and see how I feel about it, and then maybe I’ll revisit some of the other options. Can anyone tell me about the security/privacy issues related to keyboards like SwiftKey? There was a dire warning about how turning on the autocomplete feature would make all of my typing available to the third party. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swype-or-swiftkey/699375/5 "2014-09-24T00:21:53Z")
I’ve never tried swiftkey, but I love swype and hope to god I never have to go back to tap-typing. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swype-or-swiftkey/699375/6 "2014-09-24T00:40:11Z")
What, Amazing Apple iProducts have never had Swype? 🆒 Never tried swiftkey, love Swype. Have been using it for about two years. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swype-or-swiftkey/699375/7 "2014-09-24T02:42:13Z")
I’ve been using SwiftKey on Android for a few years and like it just fine. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swype-or-swiftkey/699375/8 "2014-09-24T03:27:54Z")
Swiftkey is the free one so I tried it for a bit and didn’t like it. Swype costs a dollar. You may as well try Swiftkey first. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swype-or-swiftkey/699375/9 "2014-09-24T04:36:33Z")
Swiftkey has a swipe input available, so may as well try that and see how you like tapping with predictive text - that’s what I use, and it also separates certain gobbledygook into words if you forget to use spaces - and if you want to try swiping you can do that, too. I’ve been using Swiftkey for a few years now and I rarely have to type a whole word. I do periodically go into the app and have it “learn” from three email accounts, facebook, twitter, and SMS. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swype-or-swiftkey/699375/10 "2014-09-24T06:00:59Z")
I’m a huge fan of Swype from back in my Android days, so that went on the iPhone the day iOS 8 dropped. That said, I find that it works better on the phone than the iPad: in landscape mode, you end up traveling a significant distance for some words and it feels less efficient. I was put off by Swiftkey by the option that gathers every character you type and sends it to them. Yes, you can disable it but at the cost of optimal performance. Plus, it just creeps me out that it’s there at all. ---
**Author:** ![Cara\_mel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/22d042/32.png) [@Cara\_mel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cara_mel)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swype-or-swiftkey/699375/11 "2014-09-24T06:29:05Z")
Despite the fact that my friends and family all have Iphones, it’s swype that keeps me with Android. Swype and predict, swype, and predict. It couldn’t be easier or more convenient. I’m pretty quick at it - would never go back to tapping with two thumbs. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swype-or-swiftkey/699375/12 "2014-09-24T12:58:01Z")
> [@Cara\_mel](#): > > Despite the fact that my friends and family all have Iphones, it’s swype that keeps me with Android. Swype and predict, swype, and predict. It couldn’t be easier or more convenient. I’m pretty quick at it - would never go back to tapping with two thumbs. Swype is on iPhone now. That’s the whole point of this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Cara\_mel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/22d042/32.png) [@Cara\_mel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cara_mel)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swype-or-swiftkey/699375/13 "2014-09-24T13:19:35Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Swype is on iPhone now. That’s the whole point of this thread. Ok it’s the reason I never got an iPhone. Might even consider getting one now. ---
**Author:** ![HipGnosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/76d3ee/32.png) [@HipGnosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HipGnosis)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swype-or-swiftkey/699375/14 "2014-09-24T13:26:26Z")
Swiftkey on android for me. I don’t use the ‘swipe’ typing (I’m a touch typer) but I like the prediction (learned) words. I tried Swype long ago, I prefer swiftkey’s learning ‘my’ words. It has been a while though… ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swype-or-swiftkey/699375/15 "2014-09-24T13:35:58Z")
One thing I like about Swype is the ease of correcting when it guesses the wrong word, which is inevitable sometimes. You just tap the word, tap the Swype button and have another go (for the most recent word you can just press backspace). The default Android keyboard does now have Swype-like gesturing, but it’s much harder to correct mistakes unless you catch them straight away. For maximum speed I like to blast the whole message out and then correct the wrong words. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swype-or-swiftkey/699375/16 "2014-09-24T13:43:56Z")
Swype costs money? I’ve never had an Android phone that didn’t come with it preinstalled. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swype-or-swiftkey/699375/17 "2014-09-24T13:52:09Z")
One of the big changes with iOS 8 is that it now allows third party keyboards. The standard keyboard does not have swipe gestures but does have much better predictive guessing by tapping on choices as you go. Emoji has been bundled in for a while. Swiftkey is available for free. Swype costs 99 cents. There are other less well known choices as well for free or a nominal cost.