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 people 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 people 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 people.”

The first is pretty self-explanatory, but the second caught many Western people off guard, especially those who’ve never dabbled in calligraphy.

An Arabic reed pen, or qalam, is a traditional writing tool used in Islamic calligraphy, known for its ability to create elegant, flowing strokes with varying thickness.

And while the Apple Pencil has had pressure sensitivity support from the start, it has never natively offered a virtual brush that truly mimics the writing flow of a traditional qalam, until now.

If Apple gets the simulation right, this new brush will replicate the thick-and-thin strokes characteristic of Arabic calligraphy, expanding the Apple Pencil’s range to accommodate a much wider cultural and artistic spectrum.

This angled-cut style is also widely used by calligraphy enthusiasts, enabling the bold, expressive letterforms that give many scripts their distinct visual rhythm.

It’s still unclear whether this new virtual brush will be exclusive to the Apple Pencil Pro, or available on other models as well. But with WWDC just around the corner, we’ll soon find out.

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Marcus Mendes is a Brazilian tech podcaster and journalist who has been closely following Apple since the mid-2000s.

He began covering Apple news in Brazilian media in 2012 and later broadened his focus to the wider tech industry, hosting a daily podcast for seven years.