# Why no Swype keyboard for iDevices yet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 29, 2011, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-swype-keyboard-for-idevices-yet/604423 "2011-11-29T05:16:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-swype-keyboard-for-idevices-yet/604423/1 "2011-11-29T05:16:48Z")
Why doesn’t Apple buy out the Swype company license the tech or make their own rip off keyboard and let us use it on their devices? It seems like a glaring deficiency to me. I have ieverything and enjoy the products but had an android phone for a month or so that had Swype and was immediately hooked because it was so easy to use and was very accurate compared to the qwerty keyboards. Very fast to use as well. Why not bring this over to Apple devices? I’ll bet the iPhone 5 will have it ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-swype-keyboard-for-idevices-yet/604423/2 "2011-11-29T05:24:40Z")
I don’t have an answer to your question, but I second Swype. I love it. I’ve never typed as quickly and accurately as I do with Swype. Heh. Swype even recognizes ‘Swype’. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-swype-keyboard-for-idevices-yet/604423/3 "2011-11-29T06:57:04Z")
Because Android needs to have something that Apple doesn’t, darnit! _fistshake_ ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-swype-keyboard-for-idevices-yet/604423/4 "2011-11-29T07:07:12Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Because Android needs to have something that Apple doesn’t, darnit! _fistshake_ Other than flexibility and a free to join development community that does not require huge fees and proprietary hardware purchases. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-swype-keyboard-for-idevices-yet/604423/5 "2011-11-29T20:34:47Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > Why doesn’t Apple buy out the Swype company license the tech or make their own rip off keyboard and let us use it on their devices? It seems like a glaring deficiency to me. I have ieverything and enjoy the products but had an android phone for a month or so that had Swype and was immediately hooked because it was so easy to use and was very accurate compared to the qwerty keyboards. Very fast to use as well. > > Why not bring this over to Apple devices? I’ll bet the iPhone 5 will have it I’d love it!! I have an Android phone with Swype, and occasionally when I use my iPod Touch (or Typo’s iPhone) for something, I find myself trying to swype whatever I’m attemting to enter. The results aren’t usually good :D. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-swype-keyboard-for-idevices-yet/604423/6 "2011-11-30T01:02:02Z")
Ugh. I have an Android and had to turn off the Swype off immediately. I just ended up with a dozen extra letters in every word. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-swype-keyboard-for-idevices-yet/604423/7 "2011-11-30T01:14:25Z")
I like the idea of Swype, and tried to use it for a couple of weeks before I gave up and switched back to the Android keyboard. My brain has left-hand and right-hand letters ingrained so solidly, that trying to Swype doesn’t work because I just use my right index finger, and I can’t remember where letters are on the “left” side of the keyboard, so I end up searching mid-swype and messing up words because I would pause and the phone would think I was done and put in some weird word, or I would drag in the wrong direction and it wouldn’t be able to figure out what the hell I was trying to type. Now, having switched from an iPhone to an Android, I still have to say I like the Android keyboard setup better. I like that the word selections pop up in a way that I don’t have to use the space bar, just select the word, and then more options come up that I don’t need to switch keyboards for, such as slashes, question marks and exclamations. I can still type faster with the Android than I did with the iPhone. ---
**Author:** ![gardentraveler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gardentraveler/32/3576_2.png) [@gardentraveler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gardentraveler)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-swype-keyboard-for-idevices-yet/604423/8 "2011-11-30T01:53:29Z")
[Here’s](http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/can_nuance_help_bring_swype_to_the_iphone.php) an article from October about the company that recently acquired Swype. I think it does a nice job of imagining some of the changes that could officially come to iWorld if Apple were to partner with them. I’m an iPhone and iPad user and think some of the possibilities would be great. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-swype-keyboard-for-idevices-yet/604423/9 "2011-11-30T03:01:05Z")
I found a FAQ sheet from the Swype people recently. They mentioned that they would love to do an iVersion (my term, not theirs), but their business model is to sell to the manufacturer and have it included in the device. Apple, apparently, isn’t interested in playing ball with them. A quick google search seems to indicate that you can install a version of Swype if you jailbreak your device. -D/a ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-swype-keyboard-for-idevices-yet/604423/10 "2011-11-30T04:44:16Z")
> [@voguevixen](#): > > Ugh. I have an Android and had to turn off the Swype off immediately. I just ended up with a dozen extra letters in every word. There are many different on-screen keyboards available for Android; I’m sure you’ll find one to your liking. My personal favorite is Swiftkey X. (Does Apple allow _any_ third-party on-screen keyboards? When I had my iPad, I seem to recall I couldn’t find any; I sold the iPad because I couldn’t stand the standard onscreen keyboard.)