Latest Microsoft SwiftKey Update Brings Significant Arabic Language Improvements

While it doesn’t get updated as often as the Office 365 suite of apps, Microsoft SwiftKey does see an update every couple of months on average and they tend to be sizable updates.  The update that the Redmond company released today for their Android keyboard app is no exception.  It brings a significant number of improvements with a heavy emphasis on improvements around Arabic.

The update is version is 7.0.9.28 for those keeping score at home.  It is in the Play Store now and if you have the keyboard installed, you likely have the update waiting or it has been installed if you have Automatic Updates enabled.

For Arabic users of Microsoft SwiftKey, this update is going to be welcomed as it adds a lot of support for language.  Here is what’s new from that perspective:

  • Added Arabic number sign, sign sanah, footnote marker, sign Safha, date separator, s.a.w. & alayhissalam abbreviation symbols & thousands of separators to Arabic layouts;
  • Added Arabic full stop and percent characters to Urdu layout;
  • Added subscript aled, maddah above characters, hamza above & below, ulti pesh/inverted dhamma & extended Arabic digits to Urdu layouts;

For everyone, there is a welcome fix that will now not fix a flow typed “I’m” to “I”.  Direct image insertion now works in WeChat from the keyboard app too.

When it comes to Android keyboard apps, Google’s own Gboard app tends to get the lion’s share of attention but SwiftKey is a solid alternative if you are looking for one.

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