How to Manage Bilingual and Multilingual Keyboards on iPhone in iOS 18
Reading Time: 4 minutes With iOS 18, Apple has introduced a new bilingual and multilingual keyboards feature, allowing users to type in two languages seamlessly without needing to switch keyboards manually. This feature intelligently detects the language being used and adjusts suggestions, autocorrect, and predictive text accordingly, streamlining multilingual communication.
Before iOS 18, users could add multiple keyboards and switch between them by tapping the Globe key on the keyboard. However, with the introduction of bilingual and multilingual keyboards in iOS 18, there is no need to switch anymore. You can use the same keyboard to type seamlessly in multiple languages.
Many people are fluent in more than one language and often use multiple keyboards on their devices to accommodate their communication needs. Now, with iOS 18, you can add more languages to your keyboard and even customize it to use an alphabetical keyboard layout. This update is designed to enhance the multilingual experience on iPhones, providing a more intuitive and efficient way to manage and use multiple languages.
I used two separate keyboards, Turkish and English. After updating to iOS 18, I decided to try the bilingual keyboard. Although it took some time to adjust, I found it to be much more practical and efficient for typing in both languages.
If you add two languages to the keyboard, it is called bilingual, and if you add three languages, it is called multilingual. iOS 18 allows you to add up to three languages to your keyboard. However, the multilingual keyboard is not available for all languages. Currently multilingual supported languages include English, Bangla, Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu. Additionally, to use a three-language keyboard on iOS 18, you need an iPhone 12 or later.
This article provides a detailed guide to using this feature.
Setting Up a Bilingual Keyboard
In this article, I’ll start with English as the primary language and demonstrate how to add Turkish to the keyboard.
To set up a bilingual keyboard, starting with a primary language like English, follow these steps:
- Open Settings on your iPhone.
- Navigate to General > Keyboard > Keyboards > Add New Keyboard.
- Choose the additional language you want to add. As I stated above, for the purpose of this article, I will add Turkish.
If a bilingual option is available, a prompt will appear asking you to choose between “Add to English Keyboard” and “Add New Keyboard”. Select “Add to English Keyboard” to enable bilingual functionality.
Once added, you’ll see the new keyboard listed as a combination of the two languages, such as “English & Turkish” if you started with English and added Turkish. This combined keyboard allows you to type seamlessly in both languages, with the system automatically recognizing the language you’re using and offering the appropriate suggestions and corrections.
To customize the layout:
- Tap on the bilingual keyboard in the list (e.g., “English & Turkish”).
- You’ll see layout options, such as QWERTY, AZERTY, QWERTZ, Dvorak, or language-specific options like Turkish -Q or Turkish – F.
- Select the layout you prefer.
The layout you choose will work seamlessly for typing in both languages without needing to switch. For example, English layouts will include the extra characters needed for French, accessible through a Press and Hold on the corresponding keys.
As mentioned earlier, if you want to set up a multilingual keyboard, you’ll need to add three languages. However, keep in mind that not all languages can be added. To add more than two languages, go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards, tap on the bilingual keyboard, and you’ll see an option labeled “Add Language“, if your current keyboard languages support a third language and then you will be shown the languages you can add.
Managing Keyboards After Updating to iOS 18
If you had separate English and Turkish keyboards active before updating to iOS 18, the update might have automatically merged them into a single bilingual keyboard labeled “English & Turkish.” On this merged keyboard, you’ll notice “EN TR” faintly displayed in the lower-right corner of the space bar. Additionally, the Globe key, which was previously used to switch between keyboards, may no longer be visible because you now have a single keyboard instead of two.
If you prefer to revert to the old setup with separate keyboards for each language, perhaps to maintain dedicated layouts or reduce the chance of autocorrect errors in mixed-language text, follow these steps:
- Open Settings on your iPhone.
- Go to General > Keyboard > Keyboards > Add New Keyboard.
- Add both English and Turkish as individual keyboards.
- When prompted with a choice between “Add to English (or Turkish) Keyboard” and “Add New Keyboard,” select “Add New Keyboard” to keep them separate.
- After adding both languages, use the Edit button in the Keyboards list to remove the merged “English & Turkish” keyboard.
This will restore the ability to switch between separate keyboards using the Globe key, a button typically found near the bottom-left corner of the keyboard that allows users to toggle between different keyboard languages and layouts easily, just as it was before the update.
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