Apple's 'desi' touch: 6 India-specific features coming to iOS 18
Apple's upcoming iOS 18 is set to enhance the iPhone experience for Indian users with a range of country-specific features. These include new Indian fonts and numerals, an improved language search function, and a multilingual Siri. One key update will allow users to customize their lock screen time with numerals from 12 different Indian languages and personalize their Contact Posters's font color and weight.
iOS 18 to support alphabetical keyboard layouts for Indian languages
The iOS 18 update will also introduce alphabetical keyboard layouts for 11 Indian languages, enabling users to type directly in these scripts. The vowel and conjunct keys on these layouts will dynamically change based on the user's typing. This feature will be available in languages including Bangla, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.
Enhanced language search capabilities in iOS 18
Apple's iOS 18 will feature improved language search capabilities, allowing users to find words in the spellings they are accustomed to, irrespective of the content's spelling style. This means users can look up different spellings for words regardless of which spelling is typed. The feature will be available in Assamese, Bangla, Devanagari, and Gujarati languages.
Siri's expanded language capabilities in iOS 18
In the iOS 18 update, Siri's language capabilities have been significantly expanded. Now supporting nine additional Indian languages along with Indian English, users can use a mix of English and a local language to perform various functions. Notably, Siri can now respond in Hindi to Hindi queries as well.
iOS 18 includes Hindi support for Translate app
The iOS 18 update will also extend support for Hindi in the Translate app. This feature will be integrated into Safari webpages and other systemwide translation features, including apps like Notes. This means users can now translate content into Hindi across various applications and webpages on their iPhones.
Multilingual keyboard available on iPhone 12 and later models
The iOS 18 update will introduce a multilingual keyboard for iPhone 12 and later models. This feature allows users to type phonetically with Latin characters in English and up to two additional Indian languages, offering a trilingual predictive typing experience. The feature is available in Messages, Notes, and anywhere users have access to the keyboard, supporting languages such as English, Bangla, Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu.
