Rumor: Apple buys tablet keyboard app from founder Swype

Apple is said to have bought a keyboard app for tablets from the founder of Swype. The app tracks the user’s fingers by detecting whether the user is resting their hands on the screen or is actually typing.

The co-founder of Swype and one of the founders of the keyboard app Dryft, according to his LinkedIn profile, has been working at Apple since September last year. In addition, Dryft has stopped enrolling testers on its app, which never materialized. Dryft should be out this year. Apple tells TechCrunch never to comment on individual acquisitions of small businesses.

Dryft follows users’ fingers by using the tablet’s tilt sensor and touchscreen. As the user types, the tilt sensor can sense it by the sudden pressure that causes a small movement. As a result, Dryft knows the difference between fingers resting on the screen and typing.

The app uses that data to trace the fingers across the screen, so that the keyboard is where the user wants to type. The keys are transparent, so they take up less space on the screen. Dryft gave a demo at last year’s TechCrunch Disrupt conference, but it didn’t look very impressive: the keyboard corrected a few words incorrectly during the demonstration. Dryft is available for two-handed use on tablets and a one-handed variant for large smartphones.

Apple probably wants to use the technology for its own keyboard. When Dryft’s technology will appear in Apple’s own keyboard is unknown. Since last fall, users can use alternative keyboards on iOS. One of those keyboards is Swype, one of the founders of which now works at Apple.