iOS 18 to Introduce India-Focused Customisation, Keyboard and Language Features

iOS 18 will support typing in Indian English along with two other languages, while Siri will respond to English queries mixed with Indian languages.

Written by David Delima | Updated: 3 July 2024 11:27 IST

iOS 18 to Introduce India-Focused Customisation, Keyboard and Language Features

Photo Credit: Apple

Support for Indian languages is coming to Contact Posters and the Lock Screen on iOS 18

Highlights

iOS 18 will bring improved support for typing in Indian languages
Siri will be able to respond to Hindi queries in Hindi on iOS 18
iOS 18 will be available on iPhone XR and newer models

iOS 18 — Apple's upcoming operating system update for eligible iPhone models — will arrive later this year with features tailored to users in India. These include new customisation options, improved language support for the default keyboard, Siri, and Translate app. Meanwhile, iOS 18 will also introduce improved controls for users who have two phone numbers. Developer betas of iOS 18 and other operating system updates from the company are already available to test, and these are expected to roll out to users in the coming months.

Dual SIM switch, Live Voicemail Transcription and Live Caller ID

After updating to iOS 18, users will be able to access a new toggle in the redesigned control centre, that can switch between two SIMs on an iPhone, bringing the experience on par with most Android smartphones that also allow users to switch between their primary and secondary SIM cards.

Some features introduced on iOS 17 are also making their way to users in India on iOS 18 — Live Voicemail Transcription and Live Caller ID. These features allow users to see a real-time transcription of what a caller is saying, when a call is sent to voicemail. The update will also introduce T9 searching and dialling support, along with improvements to call history searches.

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Indian numerals on Lock Screen, Contact Posters

With iOS 18, users will be able to modify their Lock Screen clock to display the time in numerals using 12 Indian languages. On iOS 17, Apple lets users pick from English, Arabic (Indic), Devanagiri, Khmer, and Burmese numerals, and the list is set to expand to include more languages later this year.

Users will also be able to customise the font weight and colour, while setting up the Lock Screen and their Contact Poster. The upcoming update will include support for Arabic, Arabic Indic, Bangla, Devanagari, Gujarati, Gurmukhi, Kannada, Malayalam, Meitei, Odia, Ol Chiki, and Telugu.

Multi-language support for keyboards and Siri, improved search using Indian languages

Apple will update Siri with the ability to respond in Hindi to queries made in Hindi, when iOS 18 rolls out. The assistant will also be able to understand Indian English commands when used along with phrases from nine languages — Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu.

Apple Releases iOS 18 Developer Beta 2 With iPhone Mirroring, More

The default keyboard on iOS 18 will offer support for typing in two additional Indian languages, using Latin characters to type in English. When tying in English, users can also enter text in Bangla, Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu, with trilingual predictive typing support.

Meanwhile, users who prefer to directly type out their messages in Indian languages will have access to alphabetical layouts in Bangla, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.

Looking up words and phrases in Assamese, Bangla, Devanagari, and Gujarati on iOS 18 will also take alternative spellings into account, making it easier to look up certain words that are spelled differently but have the same meaning. The Translate app on iOS 18 will also gain Hindi support, allowing web pages and other content across the system to be translated to Hindi.

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Further reading: iOS 18, Siri, Apple, India

David Delima

Email David Delima

As a writer on technology with Gadgets 360, David Delima is interested in open-source technology, cybersecurity, consumer privacy, and loves to read and write about how the Internet works. David can be contacted via email at DavidD@ndtv.com, on Twitter at @DxDavey, and Mastodon at mstdn.social/@delima. More