iPadOS 14 Apple Pencil Features Expand to French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish Languages

Apple has expanded several iPadOS 14 Apple Pencil features to additional languages, improving ‌Apple Pencil‌ functionality for those who write in French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.

ipados14scribblecopyastext
According to Apple's iOS and iPadOS Feature Availability page, these languages can now be used when copying handwriting as text and there's also data detector support.

That means if you write something in French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish, you can now copy the handwritten text and paste it as standard typed text, and addresses and other content written in these languages will also show up as interactive and clickable.

applehandwritinglinkrecognition
Both Copy Handwriting as Text and Data Detectors were already available for the English and Chinese languages, but have expanded much more broadly. Various dialects are supported including French (Belgium), French (Canada), French (Switzerland), French (France), German (Austria), German (Germany), German (Switzerland), Italian (Switzerland), Italian (Italy), Portuguese (Portugal), Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Latin America), and Spanish (Mexico).

Apple earlier this year introduced Apple Pencil Scribble support for these same languages, allowing German, French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese speakers to write in their native language across iPadOS.

Top Rated Comments

ghanwani Avatar
36 months ago
I miss the days of old technology (like plain old pen and paper) where the feature was released for all languages at the same time.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PinkyMacGodess Avatar
36 months ago
I just wish there was a way to 'Find My'...

Pencil...

I haven't found it yet...

Depressing...
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
V86 Avatar
36 months ago
Please have the Nordic Languages be next. (Norwegian, Danish, Islantic, Finnish, Sami and Swedish)

C’mon we gave you Thor and all the other awsome Gods. Even Loki has become a much loved God.

If not we will have to unleash Ragnarök!
[HEADING=2][/HEADING]
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
David Tomasulo Avatar
36 months ago

Every Latin American country has their own flavor of Spanish, and on top of that there are regional differences. But "Latin American Spanish" is what you would use to communicate with a majority of the Latin American countries so that you would understand each other. Some countries have more indigenous words in their language, while some change the sounds of some common consonants (I'm looking at you Argentina).

It's like the differences between American, Canadian, British, Australian, New Zealand English, but standardizing on British English if you need to be understood universally.

In Latin America, conversationally everyone speaks in "slang", or rather, the local dialect. But TV shows that are international would use "Latin American" phrasing so that everyone can understand, or the predominant dialect (usually Mexican).
Although you are completely right, the differences are in the pronunciation and some vocabulary. But the syntax and the grammar is exactly the same for all Spanish-speaking countries. In that case, I don't understand why is it needed to differentiate the different regions when we are talking mainly about recognition of written text.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Karllake Avatar
36 months ago

Will it be able to automatically detect when I switch languages? Now that would be cool!
If not all languages then hopefully at least dual, the world is getting smaller and I guess a good chunk of people are using 2 languages regularly, I’d like the across the board, so predictive text can apply the correct language to each word.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
InsideApple Avatar
36 months ago
Wow…I finally feel special for once, as a Swiss German speaking person, this is great.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
iPhone Home Screen Gradient Blank Spaces 1

Sources: iOS 18 Lets Apps Be Placed Anywhere on Home Screen Grid

Sunday March 24, 2024 1:33 pm PDT by
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce...
iPad Pro 2024 Landscape Camera Feature

New iPad Pro Again Rumored to Feature Landscape Front-Facing Camera

Monday March 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as "Instant Digital." Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will...
sonoma desktop wwdc

Apple Releases macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 With Fix for USB Hub Bug

Monday March 25, 2024 10:10 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a minor update for the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 comes three weeks after macOS Sonoma 14.4. The ‌‌‌‌macOS Sonoma‌‌ 14.4‌.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings. There's also a macOS 13.6.6 release for those who...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18 Will Finally Bring This Android Feature to iPhone

Monday March 25, 2024 6:42 am PDT by
iOS 18 will allow iPhone users to place app icons anywhere on the Home Screen grid, according to sources familiar with development of the software update. This basic feature has long been available on Android smartphones. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, our sources said that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18....
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
iphone reasons to upgrade

Apple Outlines 'Reasons to Upgrade' Your iPhone on New Website

Monday March 25, 2024 12:53 pm PDT by
Apple today added a "Why Upgrade" section to its website, which is aimed at encouraging customers with older iPhones to upgrade to a newer model. The website allows customers to compare the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max to the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max. Each comparison shows what new features someone with an older...