Northern Khmer on iPhone

[Philippe Verdy]

Various Android devices allow easily the installation of new fonts : at
least it works for the built in UI for the configuration panels itself or
some default apps, but tpyically it does not work with many apps that will
still be using the staock default fonts. The user's preselected font
however is generally respected in apps with input forms for typing text and
receiving it, or if the app UI is only using the default menu toolkits. If
custome widegets are used, or custom layouts, this won't work as these apps
are only tested for specific font designs with precise metrics, even if
these fonts are "scalable", given the cumortable margins around UI elements
that are needed in all cases for any touch interface.

Some Android devices offer alternative fonts by integrating their own galey
of additional fonts (free, or payed). But for stock fonts used in the
Android UI, the Noto fonts are almost always preinstalled on devices, but
will be updated only with OS upgrades, even if thee fonts are widely
distributed online. These Noto fonts however have very limited ans
simplified designs for general use. Games will need much more varieties of
styles and emphasis than just changing font sizes, colors, or choosing
between two roman/italic styles or between two weights, and need precise
positioning of text to make the rest of the non-textual space usable for
playing with enough distinctions. It's notoriously dfifficult to scale at
the same time both graphics and texts, notably when bitmap graphics are not
easily scalable and you can't predict the layout needed to fit texts
depending on language and script uses, especially on small screens (even if
they have higher pixel density and better contrasts, due to the limitation
of your eyes and sizes of your fingers).

In most cases, this pushes apps developers to reduce texts in their UI and
(ab)use icons... Text is definitely not a priority for them and finally
nobody cares about developing alternate fonts for smartphones: default
stock fonts will be enough if they fit the basic need for the language
users want to use and will be rarely updated, unless they buy a new phone
with a newer version of the OS featuring better stock fonts.


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