Microsoft purchased SwiftKey from founders Jon Reynolds and Ben Medlock in early 2016 for $250 million. Surprisingly, the company hasn't announced any major updates in more than two years but that changed this week with the recent unveiling of SwiftKey 7.0 for Android and iOS.
The latest version of the popular mobile keyboard introduces several new features including a toolbar that provides quick access to rich media like GIFs and stickers and the ability to quickly share your current or nearby location. With calendar sharing, you can share calendar appointments with friends with just a few taps.
Version 7.0 also introduces eight new "Lish" languages, hybrid languages that users can seamlessly switch between.
Feature sets vary depending on your platform and region. On Android devices, the toolbar will replace the existing hub feature, for example, and the location sharing feature will only be offered initially in the US and India.
The timing of the update probably isn't a coincidence. Nuance, the developer behind one of SwiftKey's primary competitors, announced last month that it was discontinuing the Swype keyboard for Android and iOS in order to focus on developing AI solutions that'll be sold directly to businesses.
The new version of SwiftKey is available now via Google Play and the App Store.