Apple is saying goodbye to the world's most popular typeface. The tech giant is replacing Helvetica Neue (which they introduced with iOS 7 two years ago) with its own original font titled 'San Francisco'. The new typeface will be front and centre on Apple's upcoming OSX El Capitan and iOS9 when the launch this fall.
For a company that puts such a heavy emphasis on design and aesthetics, Apple surprisingly lags behind competitors like Google (who launched its own custom typeface, Roboto in 2011) when it comes to typeface design. In an interview with Wired Magazine, German typography expert Erik Spiekermann says that "Apple is really, really behind when it comes to typography." Spiekermann was responsible for helping Mozilla roll out their custom Fira Sans typeface.
Wired Magazine also detailed some of the minute differences between Helvetica Neue and San Francisco, which may not be discernable to the untrained eye. This is what they had to say:
The differences between Helvetica and San Francisco are subtle, even to the trained eye, but they're there. While still an austere sans serif, San Francisco is bolder and friendlier than Helvetica Neue. Based on the German typeface DIN, San Francisco gives characters more breathing room, which will make it easier to read on relatively tiny mobile screens. Tall and skinny, San Francisco is space-efficient, like Google's custom typeface Roboto, which you could consider a close cousin to Apple's font.
This is actually not the first time San Francisco has featured on Apple products. The font made its debut on the Apple Watch. Its design was intended to be optimized for the devices small screen real estate. However Apple says the plan was always for San Francisco to become the company's universal typeface.
At the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Diego, Apple handed out jackets to audience goers bearing the new font. If you want to check out San Francisco now, you try your luck with the iOS 9 beta, which is currently ongoing.
