The only thing I want from Apple's big 2025 redesign is a

There are a batch of rumors flying astir astir a large iOS and macOS redesign coming this year, possibly arsenic a distraction to the continued issues astir Apple Intelligence. And portion I’m crippled for a caller overgarment of overgarment crossed the bundle I usage each azygous day, I person 1 plea portion Apple’s astatine it: Please, for the emotion of god, marque the Notes app render the missive “a” properly.

Let maine backmost up a bit. Apple archetypal introduced the San Francisco typeface with the archetypal Apple Watch successful 2015; a fewer years aboriginal it became the default connected fundamentally each instrumentality Apple sells. The substance you spot successful Messages, Apple Music, Maps and galore different strategy apps are each antithetic San Francisco fonts, and for the astir portion the aggregate variations each consciousness accordant and cohesive.

But, astatine immoderate constituent successful the past 7 oregon 8 years I noticed thing unusual successful the Apple Notes app. The font appears the aforesaid arsenic the different San Francisco fonts, but thing conscionable felt “off.” It took everlastingly earlier I put my digit connected it: the lowercase “a” renders otherwise successful the Notes app than it does anyplace other crossed the full system.

You see, the Notes app uses a “single storey a,” the benignant of “a” that astir radical usage erstwhile penning by hand. That’s the lone first-party app, arsenic acold arsenic I tin tell, wherever you’ll find a single-storey a. The remainder of the time, it uses the double-storey a (just arsenic you’ll spot connected this website and astir everyplace other a lowercase a is utilized these days extracurricular of handwriting).

To beryllium clear, this does not substance adjacent a small bit. In fact, the wholly inconsequential and random quality of this concern is astir apt wherefore it irks maine so. Part of maine is gladsome I figured retired precisely what was throwing maine off, due to the fact that for years Notes conscionable looked incorrect successful a mode that I recovered intolerable to describe. Now astatine slightest I cognize what my encephalon was reacting to.

One time precocious we were having a lively treatment astir fonts successful the Engadget Slack, which triggered maine to bring up this mystery. My colleagues some agreed that this was bizarre and besides thought I was a spot of a lunatic for spending this overmuch clip reasoning astir a azygous quality successful a azygous app. This, of course, drove maine to download and excavation done all of Apple’s strategy fonts and their variations to find the dreaded “Latin tiny missive Alpha,” oregon α, that our nonmigratory Greek Cypriot Aaron Souppouris suggested I hunt for. Indeed, that’s what pops up successful Notes alternatively of the accustomed “a.” It’s not adjacent 1 of the font variants, arsenic acold arsenic I tin tell. [Ed. note: Nathan did nary different enactment during this time.]

Even though this is simply a ridiculous happening to deliberation about, I privation to cognize what’s going connected here! How did this happen? Who made this decision, and for what reason? Maybe it’s due to the fact that the Notes app primitively utilized a skeuomorphic “Marker Felt” benignant of text that emulated handwriting — utilizing the azygous storey “a” is possibly a motion to however astir radical really handwrite the letter. Or, perhaps, it’s conscionable thing that slipped done the cracks years agone and hasn’t been worthy changing due to the fact that astir radical astir apt haven’t consciously noticed the quality (you’re welcome).

Whatever the reason, I definite would emotion it if Apple unified things with the iOS 19 (and corresponding macOS) redesign. I mostly find the default Apple font to beryllium conscionable fine, though radical surely person their ain precise powerfully held opinions astir typography. But if I’m being honest, I’d besides astir apt miss that oddball α — it’s ever amusive to person an unsolved enigma to ponder over, nary substance however inconsequential.

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