Install Swype on iOS

If you have used an Android phone, you have probably at least tried Swype, the alternative keyboard on which you enter text by swiping your finger around the keyboard rather than tapping. If you are good at it, then it is one of the fastest ways to enter text on a mobile device. iPhone users have been Swype-less until now, but finally you can port of this wonderful keyboard to iOS.

Swype provides a faster and easier way to input text on any screen. With one continuous finger or stylus motion across the screen keyboard, the patented technology enables users to input words faster and easier than other data input methods — at over 40 words per minute. The application is designed to work across a variety of devices such as phones, tablets, game consoles, kiosks, televisions, virtual screens and more.


The port of Swype to iOS is still in beta phases, so may be some things don’t work. Most important, you will only be able to use Swype in the native iOS apps (Messages, Safari, Mail, etc.) and the blue line that follows your swipe around in the Android version is also missing, making text entry not quite as awesome. However, these features are coming in future releases according to developer Andrew Liu.

If you are still interested in trying the keyboard out, here’s how.

Note: These instructions require a jailbroken device. If you want to jailbreak your device (at your risk), follow the guide.


Add the repository to Cydia.

Click “Sections” at the bottom of the Cydia application, and then select “Sources.” On the Sources page, tap “Edit” in the upper right-hand corner of the screen, then “Add” in the upper left-hand corner. A popup box will appear; put this URL in the box: http://wynd.x10.mx


Install Swype from Cydia

Once the repository has been added, all you need to do is search for the app from Cydia, then tap on the app name and then the “Install” button. Swype will be installed and from then on you will be able to use the Swype functionality in the native apps.

When you first bring up the keyboard you might not notice a difference. That’s because Swype for iOS doesn’t change the look of the keyboard like the Android version; it just turns the existing iOS keyboard into a dual-mode one: you can either swipe across the letters you want to use in a word or you can tap them in like normal. It’s the best of both worlds.

Swype for iOS is definitely still in beta and doesn’t have nearly as many features and power as the Android version. Hopefully, future versions will improve some of the functionality, because as of now it’s pretty frustrating to use.