iOS 18 to introduce these India-focused features later this year
iOS 18 — Apple’s upcoming operating system update for eligible iPhone models — is arriving later this year with features tailored to users in India. These include new customization options, improved language support for the stock keyboard, Siri and the Translate app. Meanwhile, iOS 18 also introduces improved controls for users with dual phone numbers. Developer betas of iOS 18 and the company’s other operating system updates are already available for testing and 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 have access to a new toggle in the revamped Control Center, which will allow them to switch between two SIM cards on their iPhone. This brings the experience similar to that of most Android smartphones, which also allow users to switch between their primary and secondary SIM cards.
Some of the features introduced in iOS 17 are also making their way to users in India on iOS 18 — Live Voicemail Transcription and Live Caller ID. These features let users see a real-time transcription of what a caller says when a call goes to voicemail. The update also introduces T9 search and dialing support, along with improvements to call history search.
Indian numerals on lock screen, contact posters
With iOS 18, users can customize their Lock Screen clock to display the time in numerals in 12 Indian languages. In iOS 17, Apple lets users choose from English, Arabic (Indic), Devanagiri, Khmer, and Burmese numerals, with the list expanding to more languages later this year.
Users can also customize the font and color, while setting the lock screen and their contact poster. The upcoming update includes support for Arabic, Arabic Indic, Bangla, Devanagari, Gujarati, Gurmukhi, Kannada, Malayalam, Meitei, Odia, Ol Chiki, and Telugu.
Multilingual support for keyboards and Siri, improved search with Indian languages
Apple will update Siri with the ability to respond to queries asked in Hindi when iOS 18 rolls out. The assistant will also be able to understand Indian English commands when used with phrases in nine languages: Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu.
The stock keyboard on iOS 18 adds support for typing in two additional Indic languages, with Latin characters for typing in English. While typing in English, users can also enter text in Bangla, Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu, with support for trilingual predictive typing.
Users who prefer to type their messages directly in Indian languages can access alphabetical formats in Bengali, 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 in the system to be translated into Hindi.
