Microsoft plans to bring its Windows Phone keyboard called Word Flow to the iPhone as a third-party keyboard.

The keyboard is only available as a beta for Windows Insiders at the moment, but will likely launch as a public beta version on iOS in the months to come, Apple Insider reported. However, the company did not mention as to when it will bring the final version of the app outside its ecosystem, or when work would begin on the Android version. 

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"Word Flow keyboard has long been one of the highly praised features on Windows Phone and was used to break the Guinness World Record for fastest texting. We are now working on extending this keyboard to other platforms, starting with iOS," said the company in an email posted originally in Windows Central. 

Microsoft said that they want the Insiders to see a preview and get a feedback that will be used from improvements to the keyboard over time, according to NDTV Gadgets. 

On Windows Phone devices, Word Flow offers features like gestures and Swype-style typing, which are not unique in the smartphone world but can make the platform easier to use. The Word flow keyboard debuted with Windows Phone 8.1 in 2014. The Swype keyboard-like feature allows users to glide over the display and type words.

Since Apple opened up its mobile operating system to third-party extensions in iOS 8, a myriad of keyboards from third-party developers have been made available on the App Store. One of the most popular of those is Nuance’s Swype, to which Word Flow is quite similar.
In December of last year, SwiftKey rolled out an update on Android that brings several new features including a revamped emoji panel. The update primarily brings a redesigned emoji panel, apart from new light and dark themed emoji panels.

It also adds double-word prediction and offers two free new festive holiday themes for all users. The emoji panel will now also remember the last used category for user convenience.

Under CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft has been more willing to ditch platform exclusivity in favor of getting products in front of as many people as possible. Numerous Office apps are now available on iOS and Android, and most recently the company brought its Cortana voice assistant.