When comparing SwiftKey vs Keyboard designer, the Slant community recommends SwiftKey for most people. In the question“What are the best Android soft keyboards?” SwiftKey is ranked 1st while Keyboard designer is ranked 10th. The most important reason people chose SwiftKey is:
The prediction engine of SwiftKey is continuously being improved by using data from social networks, text messages or even emails from the user's device. Predictions appear above the keyboard as soon as a letter is typed. By adjusting to the user's writing habits and style, it really helps to save time when writing.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Highly acclaimed for its constantly improving prediction engine
The prediction engine of SwiftKey is continuously being improved by using data from social networks, text messages or even emails from the user's device. Predictions appear above the keyboard as soon as a letter is typed. By adjusting to the user's writing habits and style, it really helps to save time when writing.
Pro Can be customized with plenty of themes available
Swiftkey offers a wide range of different themes to add personality to your keyboard (some are free.. others paid for via in app purchases).
Pro Has a large number of languages available
Has 61+ languages available that can be downloaded. So chances are the languages you need will be available.
Pro Multiple simultaneous languages
Keyboard can integrate multiple languages into one seamless autocorrect engine.
Pro Can be resized to as large or as small as you want
You can choose between five different sizes to resize the keyboard.
Pro Can be undocked
The feature may seem odd but the ability to undock the keyboard is extremely useful in certain situations. For example when creating content or using difficult websites.
Pro Ad-free
SwiftKey is competely ad-free.
Pro Can be customized to have a numbers row in easy reach
Users can optionally display a number pad above the keyboard.
Pro Gestures typing or tap typing
Swiftkey supports both popular methods of typing. Either way the methods integrate perfectly with the predictions featured above the keyboard.
Pro Fast access to Emojis
When users type the name of the desired Emoji, a small list will come up where the right one can be selected.
Pro Free
Swiftkey is free to download and use, though there are in app purchases to unlock more features.
Pro Users can view in-depth usage statistics
SwiftKey will even provide you exciting data about how you type such as a heatmap.
The more you use SwiftKey, the more your heat map will transform from perfect circles into blobs where you tend to press. From the Heatmap you'll know where you tend to make mistakes and how SwiftKey is improved. Other stats provided include:
- Distance flowed in meters
- Keystrokes saved
- Typos corrected
- Words completed
Pro Supports Google voice dictation
Even though SwiftKey is a third party keyboard, Swiftkey still uses the preferred Google voice dictation.
Pro All the typing information saved from SwiftKey is synced across devices
Any learned words, phrases (inc. email addresses) will be backed up to the cloud and available across multiple devices.
Pro Various convenient layouts available, also for tablets
Among the layout choices is a split keyboard which anchors each half to the lower corners of the screen, where one would naturally hold a tablet device while typing, with the option to place a dedicated 10-key number pad in the unused space between them.
Pro Cloud backup
Pro Social Account Integration for learning new languages
Pro You can create your own keyboard or adjust the existing one to your needs
You have got a lot of options to define the design of the keyboard, you can define your own functions, move keys, use any character that is available in Android (unicode)!
Pro It does not request critical permissions
Many keyboard request the permission to access the network - this keyboard does not
Pro Export or import with extended design package
If you purchase the extended design package within the app, you can even share the keyboard to your friends or back it up!
Cons
Con Swipe recognition not as smart as Swype
It requires much more precision, if you miss one letter you have little chance of having the desired word, which makes it difficult to use in some situations.
Con Privacy, automatically saves unknown words
E.g. passwords entered in plain text fields, place names, people names etc.
Con High data bandwidth usage
This product consumes several MB per week, sometimes per day. The fact that SwiftKey doesn't fix the bug despite many similar reports is not really reassuring.
Con No language separation or weighing
If you load several languages, you can choose any keyboard for any of them, but it won't help the recognition algorithm, which insists on giving other language words in the most absurd situations.
Again, no help from their support to arrange the situation.
Con Cannot remove some options
You cannot remove the emojis or Info button from the keyboard.
Con Themes are in app purchases
Like most third party keyboards, Swiftkey offers tons of themes but of course they cost money and have to be purchased through the app.
Con The smallest layout is too big
Con High processor/memory usage makes it unusable on older devices
SwiftKey is extremely resource-intensive compared to many of its competitors, and will often lag even on high-end smartphones.
Con Predicting and inserting word combinations faulty
Recent update enabled Swiftkey to predict short word combinations. In principle this should be quite convenient, but so far it turns out this new algorithm is defective and way too aggressive. Too often it inserts combinations that are completely meaningless, or inserts English combinations in Dutch sentences or the other way around. Has almost doubled the amount of corrections needed.
Con Bought by Microsoft
Will undoubtedly lead to less innovation.