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Microsoft to Add SwiftKey Features to Windows 10 via Upcoming Update

Preview of the SwiftKey app. Image credit: The Wild Blogger (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr

An upcoming Windows 10 update will add another set of new features to improve user experience, and the addition of SwiftKey is at the center of it all.

In the announcement of the Insider Preview Build 17692 on Thursday, Microsoft highlighted the addition of SwiftKey to other devices powered by Windows 10. SwiftKey, acquired by Microsoft in 2016 reportedly for around $250 million in cash, is likely more popular among smartphone users. It is a keyboard app that not only offers customization options but also provides efficient gesture typing and promises accurate autocorrection.

“Starting with today’s build SwiftKey will now power the typing experience on Windows when using the touch keyboard to write in English (United States), English (United Kingdom), French (France), German (Germany), Italian (Italy), Spanish (Spain), Portuguese (Brazil), or Russian,” Microsoft said in a statement.

Although this is a noteworthy development, it is important to note that the function can be enjoyed on a laptop that has a touchscreen monitor. Based on the GIF image preview from Microsoft, to use SwiftKey on a Windows 10 computer, an on-screen keyboard will appear where users can start “typing and shapewriting.”

It is unclear if Microsoft is considering making this feature available across all Windows 10 computers and make it work with a touchpad or the mouse pointer.

Meanwhile, CNET notes that the addition of SwiftKey to Windows 10 could complement the highly rumored dual-screen 2-in-1 Surface tablets, which are reportedly codenamed Andromeda. If these devices ever get a retail release, it would be cool to have an effective keyboard on the touchscreen that supports gesture typing.

However, once the update gets a full release, tablet-laptops from other manufacturers running on Windows 10 are going to be the first ones to benefit from the addition of SwiftKey.

For now, Windows 10 Build 17692 is yet to be rolled out for all Windows 10 users. But customers who have joined Microsoft’s “fast ring” program can sample the new feature. It is important to note that this will work more like an early access, so there might still be bugs and other issues until the company releases the full version of Build 17692.

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