Helvetica at a glance
| Category | Sans Serif |
|---|---|
| Designer | Max Miedinger & Eduard Hoffmann (1957) |
| Styles on iOS | 6 (Regular, Bold, Bold Oblique, Light, Light Oblique, Oblique) |
| First on iPhone | iOS 3.0 |
| First on iPad | iOS 4.3 |
| Family name | Helvetica |
| Default PostScript name | Helvetica |
PostScript names for every Helvetica 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 | Helvetica | 3.0 | 4.3 |
| Bold | Helvetica-Bold | 3.0 | 4.3 |
| Bold Oblique | Helvetica-BoldOblique | 3.0 | 4.3 |
| Light | Helvetica-Light | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Light Oblique | Helvetica-LightOblique | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Oblique | Helvetica-Oblique | 3.0 | 4.3 |
How to use Helvetica in code
SwiftUI
Text("Hello, world")
.font(.custom("Helvetica", size: 17, relativeTo: .body))UIKit
let base = UIFont(name: "Helvetica", size: 17)!
label.font = UIFontMetrics(forTextStyle: .body).scaledFont(for: base)
label.adjustsFontForContentSizeCategory = trueObjective-C
label.font = [UIFont fontWithName:@"Helvetica" size:17];CSS for Safari on iPhone and iPad
.headline {
font-family: "Helvetica", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif;
font-weight: 700;
}Wrapping the font in UIFontMetrics, or passing relativeTo: in SwiftUI, lets Helvetica 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 Helvetica on iOS?
Use “Helvetica” with UIFont(name:size:) or SwiftUI’s Font.custom(_:size:). The bold style is “Helvetica-Bold”. The family has 6 styles: Regular, Bold, Bold Oblique, Light, Light Oblique, Oblique.
Which iOS version added Helvetica?
According to the iOS Fonts availability data, Helvetica first shipped on iPhone in iOS 3.0 and on iPad in iOS 4.3.
Can I use Helvetica on a website?
Safari on iPhone and iPad can render installed system fonts, so a CSS stack such as font-family: "Helvetica", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; will use Helvetica on Apple devices and fall back elsewhere. Embedding the font files on a server requires a separate web licence from the foundry.