How To Type  in iOS

Have you noticed that none of the products launched by Apple in the past few years have the “i” branding? In place of iWatch, iTV, or iMusic, we have Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Apple Music.

That’s because Apple wants to … um, you know what? We’ve already done an entire post about it.

Now, coming back to the point. A lot of people wonder how they can type the Apple Symbol. For the Mac, it’s very simple: Just press Option + Shift + K wherever you’re typing and a  will appear instantly.

For iOS devices, however, the process is a little complicated. You see, the problem is that iOS doesn’t have an Apple symbol built into it!  

Wait, what?

Yep, that’s right. Apple’s exhaustive list of emoticons isn’t exhaustive enough to contain its own symbol!

So Apple isn’t as narcissistic as we thought it was? I find that a bit hard to believe. Maybe they’re just forgetful. That’s within the realm of possibility.

Not to worry, though. There is a way you can get the chewed apple symbol in iOS too. Like we said before, the process is a bit cumbersome, so bear with me.

1. Fire up your Mac (or find a friend who owns a Mac) and open the Mail App.
2. Compose an email to the id that you have synced with your iOS device.
3. In the body of the email, merely type in the Apple symbol (using the shortcut mentioned above – Option + ⇧ + K) and Send it to yourself.
4. Now open the email on your iOS device and copy the  to the clipboard.
5. Now go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement.
6. Click on the “+” button to add a new shortcut. In the “Phrase” field, paste the symbol you just copied from the email. In the “shortcut” field, type in a shortcut of your choice. It should be something that reminds of you the symbol, or the “apple”, but not something you’d use in normal conversation. I would suggest something like “aapl” or “alogo”. Once done, press “Save”.

That’s it, you’re done!

Now, you’ll be able to insert the symbol quickly just by typing the shortcut. In fact, you’ll now be able to insert an Apple symbol faster than an emoji. How’s that for a thought?

Also, the more industrious among you can replicate this to work with a number of other symbols or emoticons, if you are so inclined. So, go ahead and get creative. May the aapl be with you!

PS: This post is in response to an enquiry by Thamarai Kannan, a member of AppleSutra’s Facebook community. Keep the questions coming guys!!