The Scribble feature stands out as a solid addition on iOS 14. With it, iPad owners can write on the iPad’s surface and it will be converted into typed text using an Apple Pencil.
The feature works in a variety of ways, for example when you’re composing text in Messages or typing in a URL in Safari. The user’s handwriting is auto-converted to text so there’s no longer a need to switch between Apple Pencil and keyboard for input.
Apple SVP Craig Federighi discussed the feature recently with Popular Mechanics, to which the core is data gathering. In development, people from all over wrote using the Apple Pencil while Apple tried to understand its nuances.
The approach is markedly different from traditional approaches, such as analyzing and scanning existing handwriting. Federighi mentioned that static solutions weren’t enough and that the team wanted to see the strokes in action.
Federighi also stressed the importance of computational power since the translation is done in real time.
