Apple’s Phone app in iOS 18 supports T9 dialing, bringing back the days of texting in the late 90s.
In the latest update for compatible iPhones, set to arrive later this year, Apple’s Phone app will include T9, also known as Text on 9 keys. This feature allows you to type numbers, which use the corresponding letters to predict the name you’re trying to type on a numeric keypad. For example, if you need to search for ‘Mom’, you would type 6-6-6. In the late 90s, when non-touchscreen phones were commonplace, T9 was the primary method of communicating with family and friends through texts.
To use T9 dialing in iOS 18, open the Phone app then go to the Keypad screen. Here, you can search for contacts using the T9 method by tapping on the relevant numbers to generate the letters you need. For example, if I wanted to call John-Anthony Disotto, iMore’s How To Editor, I’d type in 56462, and my iPhone would bring up his name.
Other improvements in the Phone app include the ability to record calls. Apple Intelligence, the company’s take on AI, can also transcribe the call into the Notes app.
Apple says that iOS 18 will be available later this year for the iPhone XS and above.
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Try T9 dialing now before iOS 18 arrives later this year
Having T9 dialing in the Phones app is a welcome feature and a nostalgic throwback to those who used to own an old-school phone in the late 90s. But did you know that you can try out this feature on your iPhone right now, even if you haven’t downloaded the iOS 18 beta?
Apps such as Type Nine are available on the App Store, allowing you to use T9 across iOS, including in apps like Messages and WhatsApp. This is a big advantage over Apple’s limited availability of T9 through the Phone app in iOS 18.
Using T9 dialing is a fun way to transform your iPhone into a throwback from 1999, thanks to apps like Type Nine. It also showcases how far we’ve come in over 25 years with mobile devices and what they’re now capable of.
