The competition in the iOS keyboard space is starting to heat up even more, as Microsoft adds a Bing-powered search engine to Word Flow.
Thanks to the new built-in feature, iPhone users can now search for emoji, GIF files and other images at a tap of a button via the app.
More than those, it can yield a variety of results too, including but not limited to the latest news, restaurant info, the weather forecast, videos and even contact details, which is particularly handy when the user wants to share a number with somebody. That shouldn't come as much of a surprise, though, as it is running on Bing.
The improvements don't end there either, as it now has predictive text support. Well, that's not exactly the most exciting bit because it's pretty much a standard for most keyboard apps out there. However, it takes things up a notch, offering GIF suggestions as users type away.
Now, it's worth mentioning that it's quite clear what Microsoft has set out to do. Of course, it aims to improve the experience of every iOS user out there and make Word Flow appealing to more people, but it seems that it's out to go toe-to-toe with Google's Gboard app, another keyboard that can also search and send emoji and GIF files.
In a word, this could be the Redmond company's attempt to level the playing field, keeping its eye on the prize to dominate the market in the future.
To boil things down, it's now easier to make conversations livelier and more colorful with Word Flow, as it allows iOS users everywhere to search and send out GIFs conveniently to their hearts' content.
As a little reminder, it first rolled out back in April, and at the time, users received it well because of how it makes things easier when it comes to accessing documents and whatnot. It should also be pointed out that it features the Arc mode that tilts the virtual keyboard to allow one-handed typing. This goes without saying, but it can be turned off if it's not up one's alley.
Word Flow is a Microsoft Garage project, and the updated 2.0 version is now available at the App Store free of charge.
What do you think of the slew of improvements across the board for the keyboard app? Feel free to drop by our comments section below and let us know.
