“For people with disabilities, the lack of Icelandic on Apple devices is not a minor technical issue but a question of independence and human rights.” Ah yes, the latest human rights crisis: Apple...
“For people with disabilities, the lack of Icelandic on Apple devices is not a minor technical issue but a question of independence and human rights.”
Ah yes, the latest human rights crisis: Apple hasn’t optimized for a ~350k-speaker language yet. Tough situation right up there with free speech and due process.
I think this is a really dismissive and inconsiderate attitude to have about accessibility. But to lock people out of effective communication absolutely inhibits their free speech and due process....
I think this is a really dismissive and inconsiderate attitude to have about accessibility.
But to lock people out of effective communication absolutely inhibits their free speech and due process. It's not less worthy for occurring in a small country or to disabled people. In fact issues of speech and due process tend to impact disabled people more proportionally. Especially in a country where they have a majority of iOS adoption, it does not seem like it is an unreasonable ask, after how many years?
On top of this, they aren't trying to compel a small startup company to do something onerous. Apple made $206 billion last year. They wouldn't even notice a small team of Icelandic translators on...
On top of this, they aren't trying to compel a small startup company to do something onerous. Apple made $206 billion last year. They wouldn't even notice a small team of Icelandic translators on the bottom line.
This, 100%. I worked on implementing translations at a massive tech company in the past and, for example, translating over 100,000 strings to a new language would cost anywhere from $15,000 to...
They wouldn't even notice a small team of Icelandic translators on the bottom line.
This, 100%. I worked on implementing translations at a massive tech company in the past and, for example, translating over 100,000 strings to a new language would cost anywhere from $15,000 to $70,000, depending on the methods used. That's less than a drop in the bucket for Apple.
In fairness, Android supports Icelandic as a system language and has done so for a while now so I don't see a reason why Apple shouldn't do the same. I don't have official data on OS market share...
In fairness, Android supports Icelandic as a system language and has done so for a while now so I don't see a reason why Apple shouldn't do the same. I don't have official data on OS market share in Iceland but sources claim it's like 56% iOS to 44% Android. Given their slight lead in the market, they should absolutely support Icelandic.
Does Iceland require language support for companies that do business in the country? I'm wondering if that's why Apple has zero physical presence there.
Does Iceland require language support for companies that do business in the country? I'm wondering if that's why Apple has zero physical presence there.
Ideally yes, iOS should have icelandic language support - but one most also consider that 90-98% if the population in Iceland speaks and reads english fluently. The vast majority of foreign media...
Ideally yes, iOS should have icelandic language support - but one most also consider that 90-98% if the population in Iceland speaks and reads english fluently. The vast majority of foreign media (movies, games, books) is never translated to Icelandic because the English fluency rate is so high. The country is essentially bilingual with nearly everyone speaking English. There are many education programs (especially in grad school), where English is the primary language; a lot of workplaces require english speaking.
“For people with disabilities, the lack of Icelandic on Apple devices is not a minor technical issue but a question of independence and human rights.”
Ah yes, the latest human rights crisis: Apple hasn’t optimized for a ~350k-speaker language yet. Tough situation right up there with free speech and due process.
I think this is a really dismissive and inconsiderate attitude to have about accessibility.
But to lock people out of effective communication absolutely inhibits their free speech and due process. It's not less worthy for occurring in a small country or to disabled people. In fact issues of speech and due process tend to impact disabled people more proportionally. Especially in a country where they have a majority of iOS adoption, it does not seem like it is an unreasonable ask, after how many years?
On top of this, they aren't trying to compel a small startup company to do something onerous. Apple made $206 billion last year. They wouldn't even notice a small team of Icelandic translators on the bottom line.
This, 100%. I worked on implementing translations at a massive tech company in the past and, for example, translating over 100,000 strings to a new language would cost anywhere from $15,000 to $70,000, depending on the methods used. That's less than a drop in the bucket for Apple.
In fairness, Android supports Icelandic as a system language and has done so for a while now so I don't see a reason why Apple shouldn't do the same. I don't have official data on OS market share in Iceland but sources claim it's like 56% iOS to 44% Android. Given their slight lead in the market, they should absolutely support Icelandic.
Does Iceland require language support for companies that do business in the country? I'm wondering if that's why Apple has zero physical presence there.
Ideally yes, iOS should have icelandic language support - but one most also consider that 90-98% if the population in Iceland speaks and reads english fluently. The vast majority of foreign media (movies, games, books) is never translated to Icelandic because the English fluency rate is so high. The country is essentially bilingual with nearly everyone speaking English. There are many education programs (especially in grad school), where English is the primary language; a lot of workplaces require english speaking.
Iceland + Apple: Mutual Friends