Why you should focus on iOS Localization
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<str<strong>on</strong>g>Why</str<strong>on</strong>g> You Should Focus On <strong>iOS</strong> Localizati<strong>on</strong><br />
2 Localized Number Pads<br />
As <str<strong>on</strong>g>you</str<strong>on</strong>g> know by now, mobile app localizati<strong>on</strong> goes way bey<strong>on</strong>d just words. Units of<br />
measurements and numbers are important too. With <strong>iOS</strong> 10, the number pads are now<br />
localized as well. This is great for ph<strong>on</strong>e numbers, credit card numbers, and IP addresses. Just<br />
use UIKeyboardTypeASCIICapableNumberPad as the keyboard type and the rest is easy.<br />
3 <strong>iOS</strong> 10 Loads the Right Language for the Right User<br />
Localizati<strong>on</strong> is a complex process. If <str<strong>on</strong>g>you</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>on</strong>ly had to deal with the major different languages,<br />
like Spanish, French and German, it would be a piece of cake. But languages vary from regi<strong>on</strong> to<br />
regi<strong>on</strong>. British English is not the same as American English. Castilian Spanish varies from the<br />
Colombian dialect. They have different spellings, grammar and vocabulary.<br />
But, thanks to Apple’s latest update, <str<strong>on</strong>g>you</str<strong>on</strong>g> d<strong>on</strong>’t have to worry about localizing <str<strong>on</strong>g>you</str<strong>on</strong>g>r app into<br />
hundreds of thousands of languages variati<strong>on</strong>s. The latest preferredLocalizati<strong>on</strong>s bundle from<br />
<strong>iOS</strong> helps ensure that <str<strong>on</strong>g>you</str<strong>on</strong>g> deliver the best possible localized versi<strong>on</strong> to <str<strong>on</strong>g>you</str<strong>on</strong>g>r users. How?<br />
Imagine <str<strong>on</strong>g>you</str<strong>on</strong>g> have an English-Speaking user in India and <str<strong>on</strong>g>you</str<strong>on</strong>g>r app isn’t localized into Indian<br />
English. Apple’s bundle will recognize that <str<strong>on</strong>g>you</str<strong>on</strong>g>r user prefers Indian English but that <str<strong>on</strong>g>you</str<strong>on</strong>g> d<strong>on</strong>’t<br />
have it available. It will then deliver the next best opti<strong>on</strong>, which in this case, would be British<br />
English. Not <strong>on</strong>ly does this speed up <str<strong>on</strong>g>you</str<strong>on</strong>g>r <strong>iOS</strong> localizati<strong>on</strong> process, but it reduces the cost of<br />
localizing for thousands of different regi<strong>on</strong>al variati<strong>on</strong>s.<br />
4 XCode 8 Updates<br />
The latest updates to XCode 8 work like a safety net to catch <str<strong>on</strong>g>you</str<strong>on</strong>g> from making errors during<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>you</str<strong>on</strong>g>r <strong>iOS</strong> localizati<strong>on</strong>. There are two new settings in XCode 8, called static analyzer settings. You<br />
can work more easily and be notified if any informati<strong>on</strong> is missing. Turn <strong>on</strong> the “Missing<br />
Localizability” setting, and if <str<strong>on</strong>g>you</str<strong>on</strong>g> forget to use <str<strong>on</strong>g>you</str<strong>on</strong>g>r NSLocalizedString, <str<strong>on</strong>g>you</str<strong>on</strong>g>’ll be alerted with a<br />
warning. Similarly, as the name suggests, with the “Missing Localizati<strong>on</strong> C<strong>on</strong>text Comment,”<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>you</str<strong>on</strong>g>’ll be notified if any comments are missing. Any better and Apple will do the job for <str<strong>on</strong>g>you</str<strong>on</strong>g>!<br />
5 Improved Formatters<br />
Oftentimes, formatters like date, weights, times, etc. can cause the greatest problems when<br />
localizing. For example, the Chinese date format is year-m<strong>on</strong>th-day. So, when <str<strong>on</strong>g>you</str<strong>on</strong>g> have <str<strong>on</strong>g>you</str<strong>on</strong>g>r<br />
formatters correct in <str<strong>on</strong>g>you</str<strong>on</strong>g>r base language, using a fixed format, this can cause hiccups when it<br />
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