Microsoft's 'Word Flow' Keyboard for iPhone Launches in the U.S. App Store - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Microsoft's 'Word Flow' Keyboard for iPhone Launches in the U.S. App Store

by

After a closed beta earlier in the month, Microsoft today has launched its Word Flow Windows Phone keyboard in the United States iOS App Store for free. As expected, the iOS version of the app comes with a handful of themes for users to customize the keyboard with, along with the ability to speed up one-handed texting with its unique "Arc mode."

word flow keyboard 2

Word Flow keyboard's "Light" theme

Arc mode bends the keyboard into a circular shape, hugging whichever side of the iPhone a user's dominant hand will be typing on, allowing for more efficient one-handed typing than a traditional iOS keyboard. Its default interface doesn't differ from other third-party keyboards, letting users switch between tapping and swiping on the fly to enter text.

As with Apple's included keyboard, Word Flow has a predictive text feature, and users can even turn on a word learning option that will bolster the app's predictive capabilities for each user by sending keyboard information to Microsoft. Elsewhere in the app, users will also be able to upload their own pictures as customized keyboard themes, and even track their typing speed once Word Flow is granted full access in Settings.

word flow keyboard

Word Flow keyboard with a custom image theme

Anyone who wants to check Word Flow out can download it from the App Store for free [Direct Link], although it is currently limited to United States users only.

Top Rated Comments

137 months ago
US only... not interested.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wegwhehwegqwegqew Avatar
137 months ago
Kudos to Microsoft for using San Francisco instead of their own font. It always irks me when a good third party keyboard looks inconsistent with the interface.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jal217 Avatar
137 months ago
I really like it but I just realized how often I use 3D touch for text selection. I really wish apple would put out an API for this and its dictation feature. Now I'm torn between this great one handed keyboard and those two deatures.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
137 months ago
This is the first third party keyboard I haven't uninstalled within minutes due to bugs. That said, there is definitely a learning curve and I'm not typing as fast as I can on the normal keyboard
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
137 months ago
Ummm Hello MS geniuses, your app requires iOS 9? Some of us are running older iOS' that support keyboards too!
Never mind.
Truth be told iOS 8 keyboard support was fairly buggy from Apple's side (not to say it's perfect in iOS 9). I can't blame Microsoft for only supporting 9 and up, they'd get a lot of complaints about issues they couldn't do anything about otherwise.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Spaceboy88 Avatar
137 months ago
Very well done for a first release. I love how they allow you to access emoji and then jump right back to their keyboard. That annoying cycling behavior from most 3rd party keyboards has kept me away from them.

I do wish it supported 3D Touch to move the cursor around which I use very frequently. I don't think that's limited by API access although I could be wrong.

Here's hoping that iOS 10 allows for Siri dictation on 3rd party keyboards as well.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

surface laptop ultra

Microsoft Launches $2,599 Surface Laptop Ultra to Take on MacBook Pro

Wednesday October 7, 2026 5:45 pm PDT by
Microsoft today announced launch timing and pricing for the Surface Laptop Ultra that it unveiled earlier this year. The 15-inch Surface Laptop Ultra is priced starting at $2,599, undercutting Apple's $2,999 16-inch MacBook Pro, and it targets the same creator and developer market. Microsoft says it is built for "demanding creative, software development, AI, engineering, and 3D workloads." ...
Apple iPhone Duo optimized apps Zoom Feature

Zoom and These Microsoft Apps Now Optimized for iPhone Duo

Monday November 2, 2026 6:14 am PST by
Over the weekend, the video calling app Zoom was updated with iPhone Duo optimization. On the device's large inner display, users can now see shared content such as the host's desktop and other participants on a call at the same time. In addition, four Microsoft apps were updated with iPhone Duo optimization today: Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote. Microsoft Outlook was already optimized ...
Black Apple Event Logo

Russia Places Apple on State Surveillance Registry

Friday October 30, 2026 7:58 am PDT by
Apple faces Russian data retention and disclosure requirements after being added to the country's state surveillance registry, Bloomberg reports. Russia's communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, listed Apple and Microsoft on October 2 as "organizers of information dissemination," a classification that carries obligations to preserve communications and make data available to Russian security...
Latest Stories
Everything New in the iOS 27.3 Beta
Everything New in the iOS 27.3 Beta
8 hours ago
Apple Music's New Selfie Sing Feature Lets You Record Karaoke Videos
Apple Music's New Selfie Sing Feature Lets You Record Karaoke Videos
9 hours ago
iPhone Jailbreak Gets Past Lockdown Mode and Survives an Update
iPhone Jailbreak Gets Past Lockdown Mode and Survives an Update
11 hours ago
iPadOS 27.3 Expands Siri Mode to Camera App
iPadOS 27.3 Expands Siri Mode to Camera App
12 hours ago
Veterans Day Apple Watch Activity Challenge Launches November 11
Veterans Day Apple Watch Activity Challenge Launches November 11
13 hours ago
Best Early Black Friday Mac Deals: Save Hundreds on MacBook Air, Mac Mini, and More
Best Early Black Friday Mac Deals: Save Hundreds on MacBook Air, Mac Mini, and More
14 hours ago
Apple Fitness+ Gets Gym Strength Plans in iOS 27.3
Apple Fitness+ Gets Gym Strength Plans in iOS 27.3
14 hours ago
iOS 27.3 Adding New StandBy Mode Features to iPhone 11 and Newer
iOS 27.3 Adding New StandBy Mode Features to iPhone 11 and Newer
14 hours ago
Apple Releases New AirPods Beta Firmware
Apple Releases New AirPods Beta Firmware
14 hours ago
iOS 27.3 Beta Brings Apple Intelligence to China
iOS 27.3 Beta Brings Apple Intelligence to China
14 hours ago
iPhone Duo Gets Reachability in iOS 27.3 Beta
iPhone Duo Gets Reachability in iOS 27.3 Beta
14 hours ago
Siri AI Gets More Capable in iOS 27.3
Siri AI Gets More Capable in iOS 27.3
14 hours ago
iOS 27.3 Adds Vertical Tabs and Adaptive Dark Mode to Safari
iOS 27.3 Adds Vertical Tabs and Adaptive Dark Mode to Safari
14 hours ago
watchOS 27.3 Brings Live Rewind and Siri Recap to Apple Watch
watchOS 27.3 Brings Live Rewind and Siri Recap to Apple Watch
15 hours ago
iOS 27.3 Beta Brings Back Apple's Redesigned Health App
iOS 27.3 Beta Brings Back Apple's Redesigned Health App
15 hours ago
Apple Releases First macOS Golden Gate 27.3 Beta
Apple Releases First macOS Golden Gate 27.3 Beta
15 hours ago
Apple Seeds First iOS 27.3 Beta
Apple Seeds First iOS 27.3 Beta
15 hours ago
Apple Releases First watchOS 27.3, tvOS 27.3 and visionOS 27.3 Betas
Apple Releases First watchOS 27.3, tvOS 27.3 and visionOS 27.3 Betas
15 hours ago
iPad Mini 8 Reviewer Dissatisfied With Apple's Excuse for Lack of 120Hz Display
iPad Mini 8 Reviewer Dissatisfied With Apple's Excuse for Lack of 120Hz Display
15 hours ago
iPad Mini 8 Review Claims Battery Life is Way Better Than Apple Says
iPad Mini 8 Review Claims Battery Life is Way Better Than Apple Says
16 hours ago
B&H Photo Launches Early Black Friday Sale With Discounts on Macs and Accessories
B&H Photo Launches Early Black Friday Sale With Discounts on Macs and Accessories
16 hours ago
iPhone Duo Could Take Nearly 30% of Foldable Market in 2027
iPhone Duo Could Take Nearly 30% of Foldable Market in 2027
16 hours ago
Apple Watch Automatically Identifies Songs Playing Around You
Apple Watch Automatically Identifies Songs Playing Around You
17 hours ago
iPhone 18 Rumored to Get Larger Battery and Potential Price Increase
iPhone 18 Rumored to Get Larger Battery and Potential Price Increase
17 hours ago
Apple Store in UK Permanently Closing Later This Month
Apple Store in UK Permanently Closing Later This Month
18 hours ago
Apple's Annual R&D Spending Jumps by More Than $11 Billion
Apple's Annual R&D Spending Jumps by More Than $11 Billion
19 hours ago
Will Apple Ever Merge iPadOS and macOS? John Ternus Responds
Will Apple Ever Merge iPadOS and macOS? John Ternus Responds
19 hours ago
MacBook Neo Gets Rare $30 Amazon Discount
MacBook Neo Gets Rare $30 Amazon Discount
19 hours ago
Hands-On: The OLED iPad Mini is Almost an iPad Pro Mini
Hands-On: The OLED iPad Mini is Almost an iPad Pro Mini
19 hours ago
tvOS 27.2.1 and macOS 27.2.1 Likely Coming Soon
tvOS 27.2.1 and macOS 27.2.1 Likely Coming Soon
20 hours ago