KDA Wants Better Kannada Keyboard, Writes to Apple CEO Tim Cook

Interestingly, unlike the earlier letter, which were ultimatums, the letter to Apple was a request to company.

The letter also requested the CEO to have Kannada language option for Siri. (Photo: AP)

The Kannada Development Authority (KDA) has written to Apple CEO Tim Cook, asking for a redesign of the “cumbersome” Kannada font used in the Apple products. The letter also requested the CEO to have Kannada language option for Siri

As per a News18 report, in its letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, the KDA expressed its gratitude to the company for choosing Karnataka as its base for an assembly unit. Stating that the present font and keyboard used by Apple is “cumbersome”, a request was made to change the font and layout of the Kannada keyboard, according to Karnataka government standards.

Although addressed to Tim Cook, the letter was sent to the Chief Operating Officer of Apple India, who operates out of Vittal Mallya road in the Central Business District of the city.

“We are receiving many concerns from Kannada computing community regarding the usability of the language in Apple Inc systems. We have many Kannadiga software engineers who have chipped in to analyse the problem thoroughly,” SG Siddaramaiah, KDA chairperson, wrote in his letter.

“So a more user-friendly font and keyboard layout would help in taking forward the idea of Digital India for all people, especially in villages, to adapt electronic ways to access services such as banking.

The Hindu report also added that he had also expressed his hope that Siri, Apple’s voice assistant for the iPhone, would converse with users in Kannada in the future.

Over the past few months, KDA has been pushing for the use of Kannada in the state. The authority had successfully managed to get the Hindi signboards removed from metro rail stations, and had recently been given a six-month deadline to either learn Kannada or leave their job.

Interestingly, unlike the earlier letter, which were ultimatums, the letter to Apple was a request to the company.