Most people don’t memorize phone numbers anymore. A recent WhistleOut poll found that 17% of people can’t recall their partner’s number, and fewer than 20% know more than six digits by heart. Now, Apple has quietly solved this issue in iOS 18: T9 dialing is back.
What is T9? A Blast From the Past
T9 (text on nine keys) was once the standard for mobile typing. Before smartphones with full keyboards, phones had 12 keys (0-9, * and #). To type a word, you mashed multiple numbers corresponding to letters—for example, “hello” used to be 44(H)-33(E)-555(L)-555(L)-666(0).
T9 was an early form of predictive text, making messaging faster by reducing key presses. Instead of the lengthy sequence above, you’d type 4-3-5-5-6. The system learned your typing style to suggest words as you went.
How to Use T9 on Your iPhone
Apple has adapted this system for calling: you can now dial by typing a contact’s name. Here’s how:
- Open the Phone app.
- Tap the Keypad button.
- Start typing the contact’s name using the number-letter mapping (e.g., 3-2-3 for “dad”, 6-6-6 for “mom”).
- As you type, the contact’s name will appear at the top of the screen.
- Tap the name to populate the number and hit the green call button.
If multiple contacts share the same name, a “3 more…” option will appear; tap to reveal the full list. The backspace button beneath the # key corrects mistakes. No space bar is needed.
Why This Matters
The resurgence of T9 reflects a broader shift: people rely less on memorization and more on technology to handle details. This is a natural evolution given the sheer volume of information we manage daily. While some might find it lazy, it’s also practical.
The core benefit is simplicity. No more digging through contacts or trying to recall a ten-digit sequence. T9 dialing makes calling someone as easy as typing their name, even if you’ve never committed their number to memory.
