After a couple of leaks claimed that Microsoft is working to bring Windows Phone’s Word Flow keyboard to iOS, Microsoft today confirmed the news.
Word Flow Keyboard for iPhone is now live on the Microsoft Garage site. Microsoft Garage is a place where MSFT employees can work on projects that don’t relate to their primary job. Word Flow for iPhone is currently in a closed beta release, so if you’re not already in the beta, you’ll have to wait a bit longer to try it out.
Microsoft touts Word Flow for iPhone as being “blazing fast,” saying that it suggests what it thinks the next word that you’re going to type is. It can also autofill the names of your contacts when you give it access to them. When it comes to typing, you can tap or swipe, and Word Flow also offers a one-handed Arc Mode that’ll turn the keyboard into an arc so that you can more easily use it on larger screens.
Word Flow also offers a personalization feature that lets you place a preloaded image behind the keyboard or use one of your own. All of the preloaded images are free, and Microsoft plans to add more over time.
There are already quite a few options when it comes to third-party keyboards on iOS, including big names like SwiftKey and Swype. It never hurts to have more choices, though, especially when one of those choices is Word Flow from Microsoft, which has gotten a fair share of praise on Windows Phone. Here’s to hoping that Word Flow launches to the public soon so that all iOS users can give it a try. Until then, you can check out a video of it here.
