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One of the most popular paid apps for Android is now free. The super popular keyboard replacement, SwiftKey, has dropped from $3.99 to free for version 5. This is not a celebratory deal either. SwiftKey will be free permanently, and there are some other new features included as well. Let’s take a closer look at SwiftKey 5.
For free you still get the great prediction engine SwiftKey Cloud synchronization, and the ability to learn from Google, Twitter, and Facebook. You might be asking “so where are they making money now?” The answer to that question is new theme packs. Now, instead of paying for the app and getting the themes for free, you get the app for free and pay for the themes. Themes cost $0.99, or $3 for a pack of five. If you already purchased SwiftKey you get 10 themes for free.
SwiftKey 5 has also added support for emoji if you’re running Android 4.1 or above. Lastly, you can add a dedicated number row to the keyboard from the settings. If you’ve been waiting to give SwiftKey a try this is the time. Thousands of users swear by this keyboard. It has prevented many people from switching away from Android. Give it a shot.
And swiftkey is now complete.
I guess 16 stock and 10 premier themes is ok for being a loyalist.
I think the loyalist pack came with the paid version of swiftkey already… I can’t see a new theme in that pack. LOL
It’s called premier pack and you have to download it.
Just a heads up, I think the 10 themes for free are available for all to download even if you’ve never had SwiftKey. I put it on my mom’s phone shortly after I got the notice and she’s never paid for an app. Free themes for all!
Now I can’t ditch the Samsung keyboard. Love swiftkey but got annoyed with the lack of a number row.
There’s an option for a number row.
better than ever with the number row. I cant imagine any keyboard having better predictions. Sometimes I can write several sentences without typing a single letter
I noticed that android 4.4.3 fixed the issue of reverting the default keyboard to stock. I updated my Swiftkey and it remained my keyboard.
It’s good now that Swiftkey is free, but I noticed something about this major update. Features such as SMS, facebook and Evernote prediction (which only required the API information of the social network you were signing into) and downloading themes are now held for ransom in exchange for your Google sign-in information to use the Swiftkey “cloud.” sneaky…why are they so pushy all of a sudden for you to use their cloud? I sense this is another form of earning revenue somehow along side paid themes
Probably too many complaints from users who switch phones and loose all the predictive data that they had on their previous phone.
or flashing roms.. like 3 or 4 a day lol.
I downloaded Swift key it works a LOT better than the Samsung swype but it does not say its free. It said its a trial version? I even went back to the play market to find the free one.
If you purchased the app in the past get 10 free themes… But you don’t get to pick which ones, which is lame.
…I have been using the Swiftkey Betas for quite a while, is this app ahead, or behind those?
I think this stinks for those that paid for it when it first came out. Supported the development years ago and now being told if I want themes got to buy packs and they give you a lousy theme pack as a parting gift. I know developers are in love with in app purchases now but forgetting those that supported your cause in the beginning to give it away in hope you will buy themes is just garbage. I wish they would just give me my money back and I’ll use the free non themed version.
Doesn’t bother me. The keyboard cost the price of a burger and has given me a more enjoyable typing experience during that time.
If changing the way they monetise their app keeps them updating the program more often and for longer, I am all for it.
I’ve bought and used that keyboard for years, it is amazing and im glad that they made it free so people who do not purchase apps can enjoy it as well.
NO RAGRETS, NUM SAYIN.
I’ve bought and used that keyboard for years, it is amazing and im glad that they made it free so people who do not purchase apps can enjoy it as well.
NO RAGRATS, NUM SAYIN.
I’ve been using SWYPE ever since The S1 days, it’s come a long way since then. Swiftkey has caught my eye as of late, and I’m noticing it’s becoming quite popular. Honest opinion from people who have used both boards, is it worth switching to from SWYPE, or am I better off sticking with what I know? Probably the only thing I can see Swift has over Swype is emoji’s, Just not sure if it’s enough to give up what I’ve been use to for so many years. Since it’s free, maybe I should just try it out……..
So I paid for Swiftkey Tablet, which they stopped developing when they merged it into Swiftkey, which I also went and bought. And now they’ve quit that, made it free and all I get is some crappy keyboard colors that I won’t use. Joy.
Know the feeling I also paid for both. When I saw the email this morning about changing I was surprised and aggravated. I have hundreds of dollars in apps because I believe in supporting developers. Bought Swype when it came out of beta to show my support. I could care less about themes. Just surprised about it.
I bought it way back when too. I never did buy the tablet version though because of principle. Android was designed to have the same app that works on your phone work and customize itself to the tablet too. It was nice when they finally updated it to do that. Now that it’s free, I’m cool with it. I got to use it the whole time before it was free. If I had waited until it was free to get it, I would just now start getting to use it. I think I got what I paid for. My guess is they are probably reaching market saturation for most of the people who would pay for the app. Now they will have a bigger pool to potentially sell themes to. Whatever the case, I’m still glad I had it well before everybody who got it free, and it did support the developer.
I paid for it less than a year ago through the Amazon App Store. I just deleted that version and downloaded the Google Play Store version for free so I can get timely updates (I got the free theme pack too). It is slightly annoying it is free now after paying for it, but the same thing can happen with literally EVERYTHING you buy (there are sales, clearances, etc. all the time. I paid $300 for my PS3 a few years after launch while others were paying $700 a few years previous).
I already updated, got my free theme pack and even purchased one of the other themes. I want a theme like Minimal Black but with the long-press symbols with each letter.