Apple’s newest iOS 9 mobile operating system features a new San Francisco font that it borrowed from Apple Watch. But one thing that received little attention was that the iPhone maker has also incorporated the Nastaleeq font for Urdu keyboard. The font is available in the iOS 9 beta builds. The Cupertino-based tech giant will roll out the final version of iOS 9 this fall with its refreshed iPhone.
Nastaleeq to accompany Naskh font
The iPhone maker first introduced Urdu keyboard with the iOS 8 last year, but it came with the Naskh font derived from Arabic Unicode. Pakistan-based user experience designer and developer of Urdu Writer app, Mudassir Azeemi launched a social media campaign to get Apple to include the Nastaleeq font in its future platforms. The Cupertino company finally heard him.
Now I don't need to retype in Nastaleeq- just a screenshot!! #iOS9 #urdu https://t.co/2CKkBmTQ2t pic.twitter.com/gFmrInmNzF
— Mudassir Azeemi ?☠️ (@maxeemi) June 10, 2015
For weeks, Mudassir wrote letters and emails to Apple executives including CEO Tim Cook. He explained to them how easy it was to implement the Nastaleeq typeface for Urdu keyboard in the iOS. In October, he got a phone call from Apple headquarters, telling him that the company would consider implementing the font in iOS 9.
Azeemi thanks Apple CEO
Earlier this week, Mudassir was pleasantly surprised to see the Nastaleeq font in iOS 9 beta. “I felt the rush of joy just like a kid who gets his long awaited gift on his birthday,” Azeemi told The Express Tribune. Mudassir Azeemi said he had told developers that if they wanted something to be implemented on a wider scale, they would have to campaign to large technology companies like Apple, Google and Microsoft.
My letter of gratitude for Tim Cook and Jonathan Ive https://t.co/2CKkBmTQ2t #Nastaleeq, #Urdu #iOS9Beta #Apple
— Mudassir Azeemi ?☠️ (@maxeemi) June 9, 2015
Though Google has already introduced Nastaleeq font, it is supported only on the web browser. The much-awaited Urdu font in iOS 9 beta build still has some bugs, said Azeemi. He has submitted all the problems to Apple to get them resolved. Mudassir Azeemi’s campaign aims to bring Nastaleeq typeface on every device, including those based on Google’s Android and Microsoft’s Windows.
