Why does Microsoft prefer mobile keyboard apps recently?

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Recently, Microsoft quietly launched a new Android mobile keyboard app - Hub Keyboard. This app was designed by the Microsoft Garage laboratory and is currently only supported in the United States. Using this keyboard, you can easily search and share documents, translate instant messages, copy and paste current content, and search for contacts, without having to constantly switch between apps to complete certain tasks.

The release of this keyboard app shows us Microsoft's recent trend: to excel in mobile keyboard apps. In January, Microsoft used a new Lenovo input keyboard on iOS devices, which supports one-handed input. This keyboard is similar to the Windows Phone keyboard, but also has some differences.

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Why does Microsoft prefer mobile keyboard apps recently?

In early February, Microsoft confirmed its acquisition of SwiftKey, a well-known keyboard app maker based in London.

In the space of four weeks, Microsoft has made a big move in the mobile keyboard space. Why is it doing this?

For now, the Hub Keyboard is still in its early stages, but it hints at Microsoft's grand mission to integrate its own products, integrating apps with its Office 365, OneDrive and SharePoint. This integration mission is reflected in Windows 10, Microsoft's updated operating system that allows developers to create apps for all Microsoft platforms, including phones, tablets, computers, Xbox and the Internet of Things.

But integration is only part of the story. Microsoft wants to reposition itself as a productivity and platform company, and it has previously said it wants to "reinvent itself as a mobile-first, cloud-first company." So when you put productivity, platform, mobile, and cloud technologies together in a big melting pot, one of the products is a mobile keyboard app.

The Hub Keyboard App ties in with Office 365, OneDrive, and SharePoint — productivity services available in the cloud. The predictive input method for iOS, while not yet publicly available to everyone, is designed to improve the typing experience on mobile devices.

Microsoft acquired SwiftKey for $250 million. Many people know SwiftKey as a simple keyboard app, but it actually uses machine learning to help you type faster. The app predicts your next word before you type it — partly based on history, but it also scans text from third-party sources to “learn” common orders for word combinations. The company is also working on new apps that use artificial neural networks to predict and correct speech.

In addition, SwiftKey will sync your input to the cloud, and the more platforms you use SwiftKey on, the smarter it will be. These cloud components play a key role in Microsoft. In other words, Microsoft is not acquiring a keyboard app, it is acquiring a company that focuses on artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing through cloud technology.

"In a world where cloud services are king and mobile is king, SwiftKe's technology is aligned with our goal to deliver a more personal computing experience that meets our needs and answers our calls, directly supporting our goal of reinventing productivity by leveraging intelligent cloud services," said Harry Shum, executive vice president of technology and research at Microsoft.

Therefore, Microsoft's current launch of the mobile keyboard app is not just to get mobile phone users to install cool little apps on their phones. This is consistent with the company's development direction. Since the new Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella took office in 2014, he has focused on three major areas: mobile, productivity and cloud services.