Arial at a glance
| Category | Sans Serif |
|---|---|
| Designer | Robin Nicholas & Patricia Saunders (Monotype, 1982) |
| Styles on iOS | 4 (Regular, Bold Italic, Bold, Italic) |
| First on iPhone | iOS 3.0 |
| First on iPad | iOS 4.3 |
| Family name | Arial |
| Default PostScript name | ArialMT |
PostScript names for every Arial style
iOS looks fonts up by their PostScript name, not the friendly family name. Use the names below exactly as written — they are case-sensitive.
| Style | PostScript name | iPhone | iPad |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular | ArialMT | 3.0 | 4.3 |
| Bold Italic | Arial-BoldItalicMT | 3.0 | 4.3 |
| Bold | Arial-BoldMT | 3.0 | 4.3 |
| Italic | Arial-ItalicMT | 3.0 | 4.3 |
How to use Arial in code
SwiftUI
Text("Hello, world")
.font(.custom("ArialMT", size: 17, relativeTo: .body))UIKit
let base = UIFont(name: "ArialMT", size: 17)!
label.font = UIFontMetrics(forTextStyle: .body).scaledFont(for: base)
label.adjustsFontForContentSizeCategory = trueObjective-C
label.font = [UIFont fontWithName:@"ArialMT" size:17];CSS for Safari on iPhone and iPad
.headline {
font-family: "Arial", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif;
font-weight: 700;
}Wrapping the font in UIFontMetrics, or passing relativeTo: in SwiftUI, lets Arial grow and shrink with the user’s Dynamic Type setting. Read the custom fonts guide for the full checklist, or the San Francisco guide if you want Apple’s system font instead.
Frequently asked questions
What is the PostScript name of Arial on iOS?
Use “ArialMT” with UIFont(name:size:) or SwiftUI’s Font.custom(_:size:). The bold style is “Arial-BoldMT”. The family has 4 styles: Regular, Bold Italic, Bold, Italic.
Which iOS version added Arial?
According to the iOS Fonts availability data, Arial first shipped on iPhone in iOS 3.0 and on iPad in iOS 4.3.
Can I use Arial on a website?
Safari on iPhone and iPad can render installed system fonts, so a CSS stack such as font-family: "Arial", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; will use Arial on Apple devices and fall back elsewhere. Embedding the font files on a server requires a separate web licence from the foundry.