Apple adds Baybayin keyboard to iOS 27

Apple adds a new keyboard layout to its latest Operating System for iPhones, catering to the Filipino community and other countries.

Apple logo and Baybayin Chart by @geraldblends

Time to relearn Filipino writing?

As the title mentions, a Baybayin keyboard layout was included in the iOS 27 update. This was previously accessible only when you bought an app in the App Store.

Now, Filipinos will have an interesting way of typing on their iPhones using an indigenous script. 

Photo source: @ResponseAvailable641 from Reddit

To recall, this was widely used in ancient times in the Philippines but gradually phased out when the Spanish introduced the Latin alphabet, and was later replaced by the modern Filipino alphabet, which we use today.

Going back to the topic, the new layout piqued Filipinos' interest in Reddit, although some questioned the usability of Baybayin for their iPhones.

After all, the majority of Filipinos no longer use this, and it would take some adjustments before you can actually understand what was written in the layout. Either way, it can be an opportunity for us to take a page from history and relearn our ancestors' way of communication.

Apart from Baybayin, Apple also included languages for Afrikaans, Basque, Galician, Guarani, Luxembourgish, Xhosa, and Zulu.

Will you try the new Baybayin or stick to the current modern alphabet?

What do you guys think?

Source: 9 to 5 Mac