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Microsoft's 'Word Flow' Keyboard for iPhone Launches in the U.S. App Store
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This is the first keyboard with one handed typing that actually is accessible with one hand on the 6 Plus. Very nice!
Yeah, the company charging 800 dollars for a phone with 16 gigs of memory with no way to expand on that isn't evil. LOL Apple fanboys make this site hilarious to read.
As for this keyboard, it blows away every other keyboard on every other device. Literally the only good thing about Windows phone.
I've never given 3rd party keyboards a shot but downloaded this one. Very impressed with the accuracy with both predictive and swipe. My only hang up is the inability for cursor movement with 3D touch and the ability to dictate. I also don't like how you can't switch back to the stock keyboard once you've selected this keyboard (pressing the globe just brings up Report, Settings, and Themes). Unless I'm missing something? But I'd like to be able to bounce back to the native keyboard if I needed to dictate a response. I'm not sure I can keep this as my keyboard knowing I don't have easy access to those two features. I'd keep it if switching between keyboards was possible.
It took me a second but switching to another keyboard just requires a quick press (the long press only gives you other options).
I agree with others that it is the most accurate prediction I have seen so far, but it is missing non-English languages, shortcuts for punctuations, editing of the dictionary, capitalizing words after they have been written... So back to SwiftKey for me at this time.
There's a setting you click on in the application itself to turn off sharing of some of the data. I allowed full access and usually I don't because i'm concerned of what data is shared. But after seeing how you can turn off stuff in windows 10, i'm confident that this is just the same. Kind of your own personal call on how you feel about these types of applications. If this wasn't Microsoft but say a random programmer I wouldn't allow full access.
Has anybody read the fine print on this one - are they data logging your keystrokes like pretty much all the other 3rd party keyboards out there (which is why I don't use them)? I know they say they do this to improve their software, but unless they categorically say they're not data mining and extracting an income from your activity then, well, they are.
Their privacy information that is listed in the application itself points to their official website privacy section. In the application you can deselect "Improve predictions by sending Microsoft my keyboard usage." But they do not make additional references on what specific information is transmitted to them besides those predictions. And of course allowing full access to them, opens the door wider. That's why keyboards on IOS are a double edge sword, Apple allows full access or none.. pick your poison on which setting you want. Sometimes the keyboards work perfectly with it on.. other times they don't work at all due to full access being shut off.
Well it has setting to turn off data collection. If you trust that. But any way the swipe and one hand is great. It has got almost all words right so far.
I also have full access off and it works fine
And remember to make a free purchase to make the account usable.
Apparently the rules had changed lately.
Nope, haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary. Been using it as my main keyboard since this morning. Anyone else notice anything?
Googling the phrase you already put nicely in quotes for me led to: https://microsoftgarage.uservoice.c...keyboard-usage-information-is-microsoft-colle:
When you select “Full Access”, we will collect keyboard information that will help Microsoft improve Word Flow. We will collect characters you’ve typed, words you’ve swiped, suggestions you’ve selected, and auto-corrections you’ve undone in order to improve your prediction engine and editing experience.
We also take measures designed to prevent the collection of passwords, email addresses and numeric sequences, such as phone numbers, numbers in addresses, and credit card numbers. The keyboard information is securely sent and aggregated with information from many other users who typed the same thing. Finally, the information is transformed into counts of character and word sequences.
To disable collection of this keyboard information, simply go to the Word Flow app --> Settings Menu --> Keyboard Settings --> Improve predictions by sending Microsoft my keyboard usage.
We also take measures designed to prevent the collection of passwords, email addresses and numeric sequences, such as phone numbers, numbers in addresses, and credit card numbers. The keyboard information is securely sent and aggregated with information from many other users who typed the same thing. Finally, the information is transformed into counts of character and word sequences.
To disable collection of this keyboard information, simply go to the Word Flow app --> Settings Menu --> Keyboard Settings --> Improve predictions by sending Microsoft my keyboard usage.
So how does this fit in with encryption and iMessage? Does it somehow siphon the content of messages because this keyboard is being used? So Apple has no idea what's in iMessages but MSFT to a certain extent does?
Hypothetically speaking, one could probably sign out of your current country's store in the App Store app, select "change country", and create a doppelgänger account in another country's store, needing only a name and an address (Apple helpfully provides a list of some valid addresses in most countries at http://www.apple.com/retail/storelist/ ). Funding is more troublesome, but for free apps not a problem (one could also purchase iTunes gift cards intended for foreign lands - some legit sites sell them online, though I'm sure many scammers purport to sell them too - caveat emptor). Once the object of your desire is installed, you would probably want to switch back to your native store. Updates to the app in question might require toggling stores again, temporarily. Google is your friend.
If you were to do something like this, you would probably find that the keyboard, currently intended only for US use, might put punctuation in "American" order. Proper American English, and that odd variant you folks speak in England are mostly the same, but I am reminded of the keyboard differences every time I set up a Raspberry Pi.
IMHO, I keep going back to Nuance's Swype or Apple's stock Keyboard. I've been using the "standard" MS keyboard for several weeks on a cheap Lumia (640, upgraded to Win 10) and for several attempts on iOS - it makes the same mistakes/typos as Swiftkey (not surprising as they're now part of MS...). I also have tried Fleksy - like the built-in shortcuts, hate the inaccuracy at times.
I re-downloaded the keyboards I've tried and deleted - like Fleksy and Swiftkey, again found them wanting and, along with Word Flow, banished them from my iOS devices...
The reasons I keep going back to Swype are IMHO it's fairly accurate for my usage and its customizable word library - I like the latter as I carry two iPhones - one for work (engineering) and personal, and my work dictionary is stuffed with engineering and architectural terms - like TextExpander on steroids on iOS.
