After last month’s hint at introducing new India-centric features to iOS 18, Apple has finally revealed the list of features. These additions and features will benefit the millions of iPhone users in India and will be made available in the country in September 2024. Let’s take a look at each of these ‘Indianized’ iOS features!
Indian numerals on lock screen time display
Starting with the lock screen, the new iOS will allow users to customise the time display, using numerals from 12 Indian languages. These will include Telugu, Odia, Ol Chiki, Meitei, Malayalam, Kannada, Gurmukhi, Gujarati, Devanagiri, Bangla, Arabic, and Arabic Indic. Furthermore, more Indian languages will be added to the ‘Language Search’ feature.
Keyboard alphabetical layouts in 11 Indian Languages
On the visual front as well, the new iOS 18 will allow users in India to choose their keyboard layout in 11 different Indian languages. Namely, Urdu, Telugu, Tamil, Punjabi, Odia, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi, Gujarati, Bangla.
If users opt for the multilingual keyboard, they will have the option of adding two more Indian languages, besides Indian English. In terms of audio, the Live Voicemail Transcription will also be made available in Indian English, this September.
Siri expands to cover more Indian languages
Siri, Apple’s voice-enabled virtual assistant will also begin to support nine more Indian languages, apart from Indian English. Users in India will now be interact with Siri in Telugu, Tamil, Punjabi, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi, Gujarati, and Bengali. Moreover, the Translate app in the iOS features will also support Hindi and the same will also be extended to apps like Safari and Notes.
Further strengthening its presence in India
Be it opening its first-ever official store in Mumbai or infusing the new iOS 18 with a slew of India-centric features, Apple has been amping up its presence in India. Come September, when the iPhone users in India get to use these new features, the brand will surely get to expand its customer base in the country.
