Science & Tech · Big Tech & Internet · 6 hrs ago
Apple adds support for more Indigenous languages on the iPhone
Apple’s iPhone supports more than 200 languages, including Indigenous languages that are at risk of disappearing.
Since 2010, the company has worked with Indigenous communities to represent their languages on its devices.
This work can involve getting characters added to Unicode, a standard that helps devices display the same characters across platforms.
It also means adapting keyboards to how each language is written, based on community preferences.
For example, some languages do not use capital letters, while Cherokee keyboards can change the options shown as someone types.
In iOS 27, Apple added support for Blackfoot, Comanche and Northern East Cree.
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. says preserving the language is urgent, and that partnerships can help communities move faster.
Apple added Blackfoot, Comanche and Northern East Cree support in iOS 27.
The company says supporting Indigenous languages involves years of research and consultation, not just adding a translation dictionary.
Apple has worked with Indigenous communities on language support since at least 2010.
Some language keyboards need different layouts or keys, including options for languages that do not use capital letters.
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said there is urgency to find partners who can help preserve the language.
- Who
- Apple, working with Indigenous communities, added support for more languages.
- What
- iOS 27 added Blackfoot, Comanche and Northern East Cree support.
- When
- In iOS 27; the article was published on October 12, 2026.
- Where
- On the iPhone.
- Why
- Apple says it works with communities to represent their languages appropriately. The effort also supports languages that are endangered.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Apple began partnering with members of Indigenous cultures to support their languages on the iPhone.
Apple added support for Blackfoot, Comanche and Northern East Cree.
- iPhone language support
- Over 200 languages
- Added in iOS 27
- Blackfoot, Comanche and Northern East Cree
- Apple's Indigenous language partnerships
- Began as far back as 2010
- Cherokee keyboard
- The bottom row of keys can change as the user types
What people are saying
The foes we've had historically are the so-called Age of Discovery, colonization, the displacement of our people economically and geographically, boarding schools
But it's nothing compared to the mathematics we're up against now.
Which is why we're filled with this urgency every day to do all we can to find partners [like Apple] that can help us accelerate what we want to do
It's about making sure that the best choice for representing someone's language is being made on our platform, so they feel good about using it.
Sources
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