A British start-up has launched a predictive text app that it says is set to change the way people write on their touchscreen phones by doing most of the work for them.

London-based TouchType is giving away the beta of its SwiftKey app, which uses patent-pending technology to predict whole words as a user types. The company says the beta, which is available for Android phones, can increase writing speeds by up to 50 per cent. 

Rather than relying on word lists, SwiftKey uses complex language models that understand how words are combined within sentences. The software was developed by Jon Reynolds and Ben Medlock, who met while studying at the University of Cambridge.

“We are really pleased to be able to launch SwiftKey Beta after over two years of hard work,” says Reynolds, TouchType’s CEO.“The incredible technology underpinning our application completely changes the way mobile users interact with their smartphones.”

Medlock, who is TouchType’s CTO, says that more than 50bn words in nine major languages have been analysed to build the models that drives the prediction engine. “SwiftKey is the first text entry app on the market to harness the incredible power of statistical language processing,” he says. “It takes predictive text to a whole new level, resulting in an unparalleled user experience.”

TouchType alpha-tested SwiftKey with a group of over 5,000 users for six months, and says the feedback the company received was overwhelmingly positive. Jerry Hildenbrand, reviewer at the Android Central blog is an enthusiast. He says: “SwiftKey is like an English professor is alive and working inside your phone. It’s still in beta, but it’s already an amazing little application.”