Swiftkey launches emoji-predicting Swiftmoji keyboard for Android and iOS
Available on iOS and Android, Swiftmoji uses Swiftkey's word-prediction power to help you pick the perfect emoji. On Android, the keyboard works much like main Swiftkey keyboard, using your past typing history to predict what you'll type next. It just looks a little more whimsical, and has an ever-present row of emoji above the word predictions. As you type, that emoji-prediction row updates to show emoji related to what you just typed. It otherwise works much as Swiftkey does, with the same powerful word-swiping, auto-correct, and word prediction capabilities, so you don't have to give up your favorite features.
On iOS, Swiftmoji acts a little differently. It doesn't replace your regular keyboard, but augments it. You type some text, then switch to the Swiftmoji keyboard by tapping the globe icon in the lower left. You'll be presented with a page of emoji based on the text you just typed. It's probably a smarter solution for iPhone users, who have more restrictions on when and how custom keyboards can operate. You don't have to change everything; you can just add quick emoji finding to the stock iOS keyboard.
Swiftmoji is free, and availble right now on Google Play and the App Store.
The story behind the story: Earlier this year, Swiftkey was acquired by Microsoft, who said the company would continue to develop keyboards for iOS and Android. Given Windows' minimal share of the mobile market, this makes sense—the company gets to try out new technologies with millions of users before integrating the best features into Microsoft's own touch keyboards for Windows. Does this mean we'll see emoji prediction in the Windows keyboard in the future If Swiftmoji takes off, perhaps such an option would make sense.