Latest SwiftKey beta goes to the cloud
SwiftKey has always been good at learning the way you type. But with today's new beta release, the app can now sync everything it learns across your devices.
Already widely known as one of the best third-party keyboard apps available on Android, SwiftKey today adds a suite of new features called SwiftKey Cloud to its beta build.
For those who aren't familiar with SwiftKey, the app sets itself apart from its competitors by bringing scary-smart predictive technology to the Android keyboard. The more you use it, the better it gets at not only correcting your mistakes, but also predicting words as you type. It follows your breadcrumbs as you type out text messages, e-mails in Gmail, and even Facebook and Twitter updates, then processes all this typing evidence into a unique user profile that stays stored on your device.
What SwiftKey Cloud does is allow you to sync this profile across all of your devices, so you no longer have to worry about training your keyboard multiple times. You won't have to retrain SwiftKey on your phone or tablet, or on your new device if you happen to upgrade. Just enable the Backup & Sync feature in the Settings menu, and let SwiftKey automatically upload its learned data to where you need it. This will keep your typing experience consistent across all of your SwiftKey-enabled devices.
In addition to profile syncing, the new beta comes with a nifty Trending Phrases feature (for select languages). When enabled, this adds to the app's prediction engine a daily log of terms that are currently trending on Twitter. This makes it easier to, for instance, type out messages that have to do with the latest episode of "Game of Thrones" or the royal baby. The Trending Phrases feature refreshes with a new list of words every day, and the data transfer required is negligible, so enabling it shouldn't be a big deal.
Finally, with the new beta it's even easier to give SwiftKey access to your various accounts. Integration of the Gmail and Facebook APIs allow for one-click authentication. And now, you can give SwiftKey access to your Yahoo Mail as well.
The new SwiftKey Cloud beta is available for Android phones and tablets on SwiftKey's Beta site.