Microsoft won’t bring Word Flow keyboard to Android, will add the tech to SwiftKey instead

Microsoft has changed its mind about what to do next with the SwiftKey virtual keyboard apps for Android and iOS, which became property of Microsoft as a result of an acquisition last year. At the time, Microsoft said that in the months to come it would talk more about how it would “integrate SwiftKey technology with our Guinness World Record Word Flow technology for Windows.”

Some people took that to mean it would integrate SwiftKey’s technology right into Word Flow, a perfectly good virtual keyboard app that’s available on iOS and debuted as a feature for Windows Phone.

But this week a Microsoft spokesperson told VentureBeat that it’s basically the other way around — Word Flow’s bits will go to SwiftKey. Here’s the full statement:

Word Flow for iPhone is an experimental keyboard app from Microsoft Garage. Ultimately, we plan to integrate Word Flow’s most popular features and technologies into SwiftKey, Microsoft’s recommended keyboard for Android and iOS.

But not only that — Microsoft won’t be bringing Word Flow to Android, the spokesperson confirmed to VentureBeat. Reports indicated that Microsoft was considering bringing Word Flow “to other platforms, starting with iOS,” which implied that an Android version was a possibility, but ultimately Word Flow only made it to iOS.

Microsoft enhanced Word Flow in August with the ability to search for animated GIFs, contacts, and the web. One of Word Flow’s novel features is the ability to curve the keyboard so you can use it with one hand.

That’s something that Google currently offers in its Gboard virtual keyboard, which is now available for both Android and iOS. SwiftKey for Android has more than 50 million downloads on the Google Play Store. Gboard has more than 500 million.