Swype, the gesture-based alternative keyboard setup popular with Android users, is reportedly being ported to jailbroken iPhones via Cydia, according to MobileCrunch. When Swype was first demoed almost three years ago, we theorized it could be used to make typing easier on the iPhone, but Apple never approved the app for inclusion on the App Store. Android users have sworn by the app’s ease-of-use compared to tapping out each letter individually, and it seems some features of the app will finally be making their way to the iPhone, at least if you’re willing to jailbreak it first.
It’s worth noting that this appears to be an unofficial project by Andrew Liu and not something created by the Swype team. With that in mind, it’s perhaps understandable that some of Swype’s features are missing from this initial build, such as the little blue line that follows your finger as you swipe across letters. The app also has limited functionality outside of Apple’s pre-installed apps, and it’s reportedly a bit buggy.
There are, in fact, some alternate keyboard apps for iPhone. ShapeWriter was an early entrant on the store and is similar to Swype, but is no longer available. An alternate keyboard within all your apps is something only jailbreak can make possible. I tried Swype on a friend’s Android phone once, and honestly I couldn’t wrap my head around it. But people who’ve grown accustomed to its somewhat quirky UI claim they type much faster with Swype and have missed having it on iOS, and now those users have a chance to try it out on the iPhone
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