Faster phone calls: Apple revives T9
Simple feature, old technology: In iOS 18, Apple has added the option to search for people via T9 tap when making calls.
T9 under iOS 18: Find contacts more quickly and start making calls.
(Image: Mac & i)
Anyone who had a cell phone back in the 1990s will remember the T9 method: "Text on 9 Keys" was the abbreviation. Depending on your skill (and the phone's text recognition), you could use it to type short text messages relatively quickly. Apple has now revived the technology with iOS 18 – not for entering content, but for quickly finding contacts in the dialer view of the telephony app.
Android has been able to do this for a long time
There, it ensures that when you enter a number, matching contacts (2 stands for "ABC", 3 for "DEF", 4 for "GHI" and so on) are displayed that you can call immediately. As simple as the method is, it is also – quicker than using the search function, at least often. If several hits are found, they can be accessed by clicking on the person icon and the respective number and "more". Anyone unfamiliar with the feature will get used to it surprisingly quickly.
For Android users, T9 in the dialer is nothing new anyway – the feature has been part of the Google operating system for years. There, too, it takes away the often tedious task of navigating through the address book. Apple also introduced other features this year that are already familiar from Android, including a highly customizable home screen, in which you can now leave gaps if you wish.
Adding contacts is also easier
In addition to the new T9 in dialer function, phone numbers entered there that are not yet in the address book can now be added directly to it or added to an existing contact by clicking on the new icon in the top left-hand corner.
This too is actually a "no-brainer" that Apple had previously withheld from its customers, who had to add contacts either retrospectively via the call list or even archaically using cut & paste. Similar to T9 in the dialer, is almost reminiscent of the calculator that was not available under iPadOS for ages, which Apple has now finally added (and made fun of itself at its most recent keynote).
Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt
Mit Ihrer Zustimmmung wird hier ein externer Preisvergleich (heise Preisvergleich) geladen.
Ich bin damit einverstanden, dass mir externe Inhalte angezeigt werden. Damit können personenbezogene Daten an Drittplattformen (heise Preisvergleich) übermittelt werden. Mehr dazu in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.
(bsc)
