Swype Keyboard Discontinued As Nuance Focuses On AI Plans

Nuance Communications, Inc. — the developer behind Swype Keyboard — has announced that it will no longer update both the iOS and Android versions of the app.

On Monday, a Reddit user shared that he has contacted Nuance to ask about a problem with the app. Apparently, Swype Keyboard kept crashing on his Pixel 2 that’s running Android Oreo 8.1 after a reboot. To the user’s surprise, the developer responded that the app is no longer in development.

“Nuance will no longer be updating the Swype+Dragon Keyboard for Android. We’re sorry to leave the direct-to-consumer keyboard business, but this change is necessary to allow us to concentrate on developing our AI solutions for sale directly to businesses,” the Swype Product Team’s response read.

Swype also confirmed the discontinuation of the Swype Keyboard app for iOS in a statement published on Zendesk. “Nuance will no longer be offering the Swype keyboard on iOS app store … We hope you enjoyed using Swype, we sure enjoyed working with the Swype community.” The same reason — focusing on its AI venture — was cited in the second statement.

According to Android Police, Swype quickly became one of the best third-party keyboards for Android devices with its swipe typing and voice dictation features following its launch on the Play Store in 2013. The app was really popular for years even despite its privacy issues.

The popularity of Swype among Android users was also inevitable, given that the app came pre-installed on some smartphones from manufacturers like Huawei. Sadly, all good things come to an end. Nuance will no longer roll out future updates, and it’s only a matter of time until the mobile keyboard becomes obsolete.

Though many users may still want to hold on to Swype for the time being, they’ll sooner or later need to make that switch. XDA Developers recommends Google’s very own Gboard as the best replacement for the very reason that it will not be abandoned anytime soon by Google. Besides, a lot of feature updates are being rolled out to the app every now and then.

The Swype app is still available for download from the App Store and Google Play Store for now. However, users are already advised to look for alternatives. If not Gboard, there’s Flesky or SwiftKey and many other mobile keyboard apps for smartphones.