Microsoft's Hub Keyboard is now available for iOS

Microsoft Garage Hub Keyboard is now available on iOS . Garage is the experimental apps division at Microsoft. The keyboard is intended as a productivity boosting tool, that incorporates information from various other apps into the keyboard. The keyboard integrates with Microsoft Office 365, giving easier access to files and contacts. The keyboard works on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and has a file size of 21.2 MB.

The Hub Keyboard was launched on Android in February. The Android version is called “Hub Keyboard, Preview”, whereas the iOS version does not carry this “preview” tag. Despite this, the iOS version has fewer features than the Android version, because of the difference in design in the underlying OS.

On Android, the keyboard allows users to scroll through a list of previously copied items in the clipboard, and paste from any of them. On iOS, only the last copied text is available. Translation as you type using Microsoft Translator is also not available. Searching and sharing web sites and news using Bing directly from the keyboard is another feature in the Android version that did not make it to the iOS version.

The keyboard can be used for sharing Office 365 documents stored in OneDrive or Sharepoint. Sharing of contacts from the iOS contact list or a connected Office 365 account is another feature. As of now, it is only available in English, and only in the US, but releases in other languages and countries are lined up. The Android version is available in India. Google is also working on a keyboard for iOS devices , aimed at integrating the search feature.