Last week, Microsoft sent out emails to lucky participants of the Windows Insider program that asked them if they would be interested in joining the Word Flow beta program, and if they owned an iPhone 5s or newer.
The email revealed that Microsoft will be rolling out the Word Flow keyboard, popularized by Windows smartphones, to iOS devices. In comparison with Word Flow, Android and iOS keyboards are lagging behind in terms of development, with the built-in keyboard of Lumia smartphones being among the best available to consumers.
The downside, of course, was that users had to have a Windows Phone to use it, which is not as popular as iOS and Android devices. Microsoft, however, is now planning to roll out the Word Flow keyboard to non-Windows Phone users.
Sources familiar with the plans of Microsoft regarding Word Flow have revealed to The Verge that the iOS version of the keyboard will also include a special one-handed mode, which is different from that of the Windows 10 Mobile version.
The one-handed mode of the Word Flow keyboard for Windows 10 Mobile shifts the keys to the side to make the keyboard compact and reachable by the fingers of one hand. For the iOS version, instead of smashing the keys together to make them smaller, the keyboard will use a fanned keyboard layout. Users will be able to choose the point from where the keys will fan out, whether from the lower right or lower left corner of the iOS device's screen, depending on which hand is their dominant hand.
Other than the difference in one-handed mode, the Word Flow keyboard for iOS will be very similar to the Windows Phone variant. Users will be able to access word suggestions, add emoji and type out messages by swiping across the keyboard.
Microsoft is looking to release the Word Flow keyboard for the iOS within the coming months, with a version for Android also expected to be released soon. No official release date has yet been mentioned by the company, but the keyboard's launch to iOS devices will surely be worth the wait.
With the pending release of Word Flow to iOS and Android devices, Microsoft has been recently showing willingness to share technology that was once exclusive to its devices across all platforms. In addition to the cross-platform improvements for flagship products such as the Office suite software, Microsoft has been porting Windows features to be compatible with devices on other platforms.
One recent example is the release of Cortana to the Apple App Store and Google Play Store in December last year. In addition to iOS and Android devices, Cortana has also been preloaded to the OnePlus One smartphone, which is powered by the Cyanogen OS. Microsoft's virtual personal assistant is currently only available for users within the United States and China, though the software is also expected to be launched across more regions in the near future.
