Changes to the iPhone keyboard and the Apple Pencil in iOS 19 at WWDC 25 could help boost Apple’s sales in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, by improving how its tools work with Arabic.
Apple has included extensive language support in its operating systems, which it has worked to improve over time. In one set of alleged changes on the horizon, its next improvement could help people working in Arabic.
According to Monday’s “Power On” newsletter from Bloomberg, Apple is planning on a few changes affecting iOS 19 and iPadOS 19, as well as the Apple Pencil. These are changes that could be introduced as part of Apple’s operating system announcements at WWDC.
There are two fundamental changes on the way, all to help users in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to write in Arabic.
The first is the introduction of an advanced bi-directional keyboard, designed to switch between the right-to-left Arabic and the left-to-right English languages.
The other deals chiefly with iPadOS and the Apple Pencil. The newsletter claims that a new virtual reed calligraphy pen will be introduced for Apple Pencil users.
Kamish reed pens are traditionally used for calligraphy by Arab, Iranian, and Turkish calligraphers. It is probable that Apple’s take will offer a writing experience closer to how a Kamish pen is handled and used, versus any existing calligraphy pen already used in apps.
The reasoning for the updated writing options is down to Apple’s retail expansion in the countries, the newsletter asserts. With the markets considered to be future growth drivers for Apple, any move to try and improve the way users interact with Apple devices could help sales.
