Install fonts on your iPad

At last, iPadOS makes it easy to add new fonts… up to a point

- Adam Banks

Apple is keen to position the iPad as a serious all-purpose computer. That’s pretty credible except for a few limitations, one of which has been a bit of a head-scratcher: the inability to install fonts.

Internally, iOS has always handled fonts much like macOS, and similarly, all the fonts included are available to any app that wants to use them. But there’s no Font Book, no Install option when you view or receive font files, and nowhere in Settings to add fonts.

Install an installer

Until now, the only way to install fonts has been through third-party apps, such as iFont (free) or AnyFont (£1.99). The fact that these worked perfectly, importing the same standard TrueType fonts in .ttf and .otf (OpenType) format that you use on your Mac and making them accessible in other apps, just made it all the odder that Apple wouldn’t support it natively.

So we were pleased to see font installation listed as a benefit of iPadOS and iOS 13. It turns out that this just means apps can now deliver fonts. Which is fine as far as it goes, as we explore here – but you’ll still need to use the same workarounds to import your own font files from other locations. At least there’s a built-in way to see what fonts you’ve added, though, and remove them if they’re no longer needed.

IT WILL TAKE

15 minutes

YOU WILL LEARN