Apple today announced at its Worldwide Developers Conference that iOS 8 will support system wide third-party keyboards.

ios8_third_party_keyboards
The company showed something that appeared to resemble the popular-gesture based keyboard Swype running on iOS 8, as software chief Craig Federighi noted that keyboards have the most restrictive sandbox to ensure user privacy and safety.

To this point, third-party keyboards such as SwiftKey Note and Flesky have launched for iOS, although their integration has been limited to note-taking in a separate app and allowing app developers to incorporate their keyboard, respectively. With this announcement, it is likely that both keyboards will launch for iOS with full integration at some point in the future.

Support for third-party keyboards will be included with iOS 8, with the new mobile operating system expected to launch this fall.

Related Forum: iOS 8

Top Rated Comments

kdarling Avatar
128 months ago
The first third party keyboard I want, is one that actually changes the letter case on the keys depending on shift mode... just like every other software keyboard on the planet.

It's always been insane that, especially after mocking physical keyboards, Apple's own soft keyboard acts like a physical one by staying in uppercase.

(Plus I've lately had to explain to new iPad users why they're not typing what they think. Especially when iOS goes into auto-uppercase at the beginning of a sentence. That's can be very confusing to new iOS users, because while it's nice when you get used to it, it's unexpected, and they try to hit Shift which actually puts in back into lowercase mode.)
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Snowy_River Avatar
128 months ago
wonder why they dont allow the same extension API to let dev put "widgets" in the notification center

Uh... They do...
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NightFox Avatar
128 months ago
Come on! Extensions is MASSIVE - interaction between apps is here! This is SO much more than just third party keyboards!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Parasprite Avatar
128 months ago
The first third party keyboard I want, is one that actually changes the letter case on the keys depending on shift mode... just like every other software keyboard on the planet.

It's always been insane that, especially after mocking physical keyboards, Apple's own soft keyboard acts like a physical one by staying in uppercase.

(Plus I've lately had to explain to new iPad users why they're not typing what they think. Especially when iOS goes into auto-uppercase at the beginning of a sentence. That's can be very confusing to new iOS users, because while it's nice when you get used to it, it's unexpected, and they try to hit Shift which actually puts in back into lowercase mode.)
The worst is when you leave on autocapitalize and you intend to type a key which normally requires you press the shift key (?) but instead it presses the non-shifted variety (.)... so instead you have to press it twice...except not too quickly or it turns into caps lock and still doesn't type the character you wanted. :rolleyes:
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nooaah Avatar
128 months ago
Bye jailbreak
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jrswizzle Avatar
128 months ago
Yes but the difference is google likely won't sure apple over swype.

Google didn't invent Swype typing.....that would be Nuance - at least their app, Swype, was around before Google added it to the default Android keyboard.

Actually, Google took a bunch of 3rd party keyboard ideas and mashed them into the stock keyboard. Don't think there's anything "original" there.

Yet again shows, there's nothing new - its all been done in one form or another. Its the implementation that counts. In this case, Apple opening up to 3rd party devs isn't copying - simply shifting direction. They're also being far more cautious about it it seems with a specific extensions api that allows this type of thing in a highly sandboxed environment.

Implementation =/= feature.

----------

I was just about to say this. Swype typing is so hard to give up. And if a bigger iphone comes out, they will have me as a customer for life (especially if they figure out the Reminders app bugs)

I'll be all over the Swype keyboard if they release it on iOS. Loved that about my Android phones. Looking forward to it on my iPhones and iPads!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 16 Camera Lozenge 2 Perspective Gray

Five Key Upgrades Coming to iPhone 16

Friday March 15, 2024 1:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone is Apple's top-selling product, and it gets an update every year. In 2024, we're expecting the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro lineup, with an arguably more interesting feature set than we got with the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Capture Button All four iPhone 16 models are set to get a whole new button, which will be...
airpods 3 orange

Two New AirPods 4 Models Expected to Launch in September or October

Sunday March 17, 2024 7:56 am PDT by
Apple suppliers will begin production of two new fourth-generation AirPods models in May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Based on this production timeframe, he expects the headphones to be released in September or October. Gurman expects both fourth-generation AirPods models to feature a new design with better fit, improved sound quality, and an updated charging case with a USB-C...
When To Expect New iPads Feature 1

Apple to Announce New iPads on March 26, Rumors Claim

Monday March 18, 2024 4:02 am PDT by
Apple is widely expected to release new iPad Air and OLED iPad Pro models in the next few weeks. According to new rumors coming out of Asia, the company will announce its new iPads on Tuesday, March 26. Chinese leaker Instant Digital on Weibo this morning 日发布%23">claimed that the date will see some sort of announcement from Apple related to new iPads, but stopped short of calling it an...
iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 Expected to Depreciate Heavily

Tuesday March 12, 2024 9:04 am PDT by
Resale value trends suggest the iPhone SE 4 may not hold its value as well as Apple's flagship models, according to SellCell. According to the report, Apple's iPhone SE models have historically depreciated much more rapidly than the company's more premium offerings. The third-generation iPhone SE, which launched in March 2022, experienced a significant drop in resale value, losing 42.6%...
iOS 17 Passkey With Apple ACCOUNT Feature

'Apple ID' Expected to Change to 'Apple Account' Starting With iOS 18

Sunday March 17, 2024 7:13 am PDT by
MacRumors was first to report that Apple was planning to rebrand "Apple ID" to "Apple Account" across its software platforms and websites like iCloud.com as early as this year, and now Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has corroborated this change. A mockup of the new Apple Account branding In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the new "Apple Account" branding will start to be used later this...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

iOS 17.4.1 Update for iPhone is Imminent

Monday March 18, 2024 5:27 am PDT by
iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 should be released within the next few days, with a build number of 21E235, according to a source with a proven track record. MacRumors previously reported that Apple was internally testing iOS 17.4.1. As a minor update for the iPhone, it will likely address software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. It is unclear if the update will include any other changes. ...