What is a virtual reed calligraphy pen, coming to iPadOS 26?

Among the many iPadOS 26 features Apple plans to unveil at WWDC next week, one curious addition stands out: Apple Pencil reed calligraphy, as reported by Bloomberg. But what does that actually mean? Last year, Apple introduced the Apple Pencil Pro, bringing squeeze gestures, barrel roll detection, and haptic feedback to its stylus lineup for the first time. Now, with iPadOS 26, it’s pairing those hardware upgrades with a new software feature that’s bound to resonate with Arabic users and calligraphy enthusiasts everywhere. A few weeks ago, Mark Gurman reported on his Power On newsletter that Apple had “been expanding its retail footprint” in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and India, and that Apple was on track to announce two features that would please users in those regions: “One is a highly advanced bi-directional keyboard for moving between Arabic and English. The other is a virtual reed calligraphy pen for Apple Pencil users.” The first is pretty self-explanatory, but ... Read full article.