In his recent Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Apple is looking to offer a new capability with the Apple Pencil: support for a “virtual reed calligraphy pen” that would make the device a tool for Arabic calligraphy.
A reed pen is also known as a Kamish pen. The “analog” version, if you will, is usually made from river reeds and has been used for centuries by Middle Eastern calligraphers. Apple offers only one type of Pencil tip, and Gurman calls it a “virtual” pen, so it seems that the Arabic calligraphy support will be implemented through software. Gurman doesn’t offer more specifics, so it’s not clear if reed pen support would be for all four Apple Pencil models or if it would be limited to the Apple Pencil Pro and/or Apple Pencil (USB-C).
As part of a larger push to expand its presence in India, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, Apple also has plans to offer a “highly advanced bi-directional keyboard” that can switch between Arabic and English for iOS and iPadOS. Gurman doesn’t state when the pen and the keyboard will be available, though they will likely be part of the new iPadOS 19 announcements at WWDC25 on June 9.
Apple Pencil Pro
Apple Pencil (USB-C)
Author: Roman Loyola, Senior Editor, Macworld
Roman is a Macworld Senior Editor with over 30 years of experience covering the tech industry, focusing on the Mac and other products in the Apple ecosystem. He is also the host of the Macworld Podcast. His career started at MacUser, where he received Apple certification as a repair technician (when Apple did that kind of thing). He's also worked for MacAddict, MacLife, and TechTV.