Apple gets desi, introduces additional features via iOS 18. Deets inside

In the latest update, users can now customise the time on the lock screen with Indian numerals from 12 languages

New Delhi: To woo users in India, Apple has brought additional features via its iOS update to improve the experience across phone and communication with support for new Indian fronts and numerals, language and input with multilingual keyboard, enhanced language search and multilingual Siri support, the company said on Tuesday.

“iOS 18 makes iPhone more personal, capable, and intelligent than ever. It’s a major release that features more customisation options, the biggest redesign ever of the Photos app, new ways for users to manage their inbox in Mail, and so much more,” Apple said in a statement.

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In the latest update, users can now customise the time on the lock screen with Indian numerals from 12 languages — Arabic, Arabic Indic, Bangla, Devanagari, Gujarati, Gurmukhi, Kannada, Malayalam, Meitei, Odia, Ol Chiki, Telugu, and adjust the font colour and weight to create exactly the look they want for their Contact Posters.

iOS 18 introduced Live Voicemail Transcription in Indian English, support for Live Caller ID, as well as a smart call history search and a new phone keypad search and dialling experience. With the new update, users will now get the “multilingual keyboard” feature.

On iPhone 12 and later, users can now type phonetically with Latin characters in English and up to two additional Indian languages for a trilingual predictive typing experience. This is available in Messages, Notes, and anywhere where users have access to the keyboard.

The multilingual keyboard also supports QuickPath and Emoji Prediction. Moreover, the iPhone now supports alphabetical layouts for 11 Indian languages allowing users to type in Indian scripts directly. “Keys are arranged in an alphabetical order, vowel and conjunct keys on the layouts change dynamically based on what the user is typing making it easier to find the correct character to type,” the tech giant said.

Alphabetical layouts are available in 11 languages — Bangla, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. iOS update also brings some more updates such as enhanced language search, multilingual Siri, translate app, move to iOS app, and more control for dual SIM.