iOS 18 — Apple’s upcoming operating system update for eligible iPhone models — will arrive later this year with features targeted at users in India. These include new customization options, improved language support for the default keyboard, Siri and the Translate app. Meanwhile, iOS 18 will also introduce improved controls for users who have two phone numbers. iOS 18 developer betas and other operating system updates from the company are already available for testing and are expected to be available to users in the coming months.
Dual SIM switch, real-time voicemail transcription and real-time caller ID
After upgrading to iOS 18, users will get access to a new switch in the updated Control Center that allows you to switch between two SIM cards on your iPhone, making it work on par with most Android smartphones that also allow users to switch between primary and secondary SIM cards .
Some of the features introduced in iOS 17 are also available to users in India in iOS 18 — Live Voicemail Transcription and Live Caller ID. These features allow users to see a real-time transcription of what the caller is saying when the call is sent to voicemail. The update will also introduce support for T9 search and dialing, as well as improved call history searches.
Indian numbers on lock screen, contact posters
With iOS 18, users will be able to change their lock screen clock to display the time in numbers in 12 Indian languages. In iOS 17, Apple lets users choose from English, Arabic (Indian), Devanagiri, Khmer, and Burmese numerals, and the list will expand to include more languages later this year.
Users will also be able to customize the font thickness and color when customizing the lock screen and contact poster. A future update will include support for Arabic, Arabic Indian, Bangla, Devanagari, Gujarati, Gurmukhi, Kannada, Malayalam, Meitei, Odia, Olchiki and Telugu.
Multilingual support for keyboards and Siri, improved search using Indian languages
When iOS 18 is released, Apple will update Siri with the ability to respond to queries in Hindi. The assistant will also be able to understand Indian English commands when used with phrases from nine languages - Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu.
The default keyboard in iOS 18 will support input in two additional Indian languages using Latin characters for English input. While connecting in English, users can also type in Bangla, Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu with trilingual predictive text input.
Meanwhile, users who prefer to type their messages directly in Indian languages will have access to alphabetic layouts in Bangla, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.
When searching for words and phrases in Assamese, Bangla, Devanagari, and Gujarati, iOS 18 will also consider alternative spellings, making it easier to find certain words that are spelled differently but have the same meaning. The Translate app in iOS 18 will also get Hindi support, allowing you to translate web pages and other content on the system into Hindi.
