Apple has added more Indigenous languages, including Blackfoot and Cherokee, to iPhone and iPad keyboards in iOS 27 and iPadOS 27. The move is aimed at helping speakers, teachers and learners type and practise languages with very small numbers of fluent speakers.
Follow the storyApple3 stories
01Summary
- 01Apple’s iOS 27 and iPadOS 27, released in September, added support for Indigenous languages on iPhone and iPad keyboards.
- 02Users can now type and send messages in Blackfoot and other Indigenous languages.
- 03Cherokee has about 1,500 fluent speakers worldwide and was first added to iOS in 2010.
- 04Apple worked with Cherokee artist Roy Boney Jr. and engineers to bring the Cherokee syllabary to its devices.
- 05Teachers in Oklahoma are using the tools to help students practise pronunciation and record themselves for later review.
02Why it matters
For speakers and learners of Indigenous languages, the update makes everyday communication and classroom practice easier on Apple devices. It also supports efforts to preserve languages with very small speaker populations.
Pulse AIAsk about this story
Answers are generated by AI from the story summary; they are not investment, health or legal advice.
