Category: iOS development

App Localization Costs Estimator Helps You Calculate Prices

App localization costs are usually hard for developers to quantify, unless they’re working with someone who knows how it works. That’s why at Babble-on we answer every request for localization costs fast—typically within 15 minutes!

But is that fast enough, or even the best way? We’ve noticed that developers are a shy bunch. They want to estimate localization costs but they often don’t want to email or call to find out. That’s why we created a free App Localization Costs Estimator widget right on our website:

Localization Costs Estimator

This easy localization cost estimation widget makes it possible to calculate costs down to the penny instantly. Try it for yourself by uploading your Strings file, app description, and keywords: App Localization Cost Estimator.

How the Localization Costs Estimator Works

It’s simple. Click “Add file” or just drag your files onto the button. The localization cost estimator can count the words and strings in a whole bunch of file formats. Next, choose the languages you are interested in. You’ll see the exact cost for everything, and you can add or subtract languages and files until you reach your budget. Remember, the prices include everything from expert handling of localization formats and encodings (like UTF-16 Localization.strings files), to real-live-human tech support by phone or email. Babble-on isn’t a factory, and that kind of attention means a lot once you get started localizing.

File types the cost estimator can count:

  • iOS .strings
  • Android .xml
  • Windows 8 (Metro) .resw, .resjson, .resx, .rc
  • Java/Flex .properties
  • Ruby on Rails & YAML .yml
  • BlackBerry .rrc
  • GNU GetText .po, .pot
  • XLIFF .xliff, .xml
  • Microsoft Office/Open Office .docx, .xlsx, .pptx, .odt, etc.
  • HTML
  • Plain Text .txt
  • Qt .ts
  • DKLang .dklang, .lng
  • XUL .dtd
  • Google Chrome Extension .json
  • Subtitles .sbv, .srt

Which languages should I localize my app into?

The most popular languages are Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese. Of course it depends on your target and your budget. My suggestion is always to start with one, preferably a language for the country you are already seeing some traction in. For example, if you see downloads outside the US usually come from Japan, then Japanese should be your first pick. Check iTunes Connect or the Google Play store to verify your download stats. If you aren’t sure, stick with the largest markets like Spanish. Contact us for personalized advice.

Read our press release: San Francisco iOS App Localization Service Says No to the Factory Model and Introduces Cost Estimation Widget

Apple Hints at iPhone App Localization Top Languages

Top app localization languages

Often I’m asked which languages an app should be localized into.That really depends on the type of app, and where the market is going to embrace it. But, speaking generally, if I had to pick the top app localization languages, I’d look no further than WWDC 2012 again. Take a look at the languages Apple has focused on for localizing Siri, its latest “app”.

Top languages for app localization iPhone and iOS
Siri can tell you which are the top languages for app localization.

And there they are: French, Spanish, Japanese, Italian, Korean, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese. Siri has to listen to accents and dialects, so many languages are represented more than once here, for example French for France, French for Switzerland, and French for Canada. In my experience I’d add German and Portuguese to this list, and I wouldn’t doubt if those are next on Siri’s curriculum. But going forward the one to really focus on for app localization has to be Chinese.

Get your apps ready for China

“It’s going to be important. Get your apps ready for China.” Those are the words of Craig Federighi, Apple Senior Vice President of Software Engineering speaking to WWDC 2012 attendees during this year’s keynote. Make no mistake about it, localization into Chinese dialects is a critical part of global marketing and distributing apps in the booming (and expanding) iOS and Mac world. The App Store was recently updated to include support for Traditional as well as Simplified Chinese and a dozen other languages. But Chinese app localization, while a new focus at Apple, is already common amongst app developers.

App Localization Services for China
App Localization Services Get Ready for China

App localization services (like us at app localization services at Babble-on) enjoy helping developers reach all the markets that iOS allows. Dozens of app localization languages are available for iPhone and it is clear from the data that users overwhelmingly download apps localized into their own languages. In fact, take a look at the App Store in countries outside the US and you’ll find that 9 out 10 of the Top Ranking apps are localized into the regional languages. It’s THAT important.

Now you know the top app localization languages. If you want to learn more, let me know in the comments.

What are the languages iPhone supports for localization?

Languages iphone supports in iOS

UPDATED: January 30, 2017: We’ve got a full table of iOS languages and language codes to remove all the guess work!

UPDATED: May 3, 2012: Apple added 10 new languages! This post has been brought up to date.

Apple has already increased the languages iPhone supports to over 30 as of iOS 5.x:40 as of iOS 9:

English (US), British English, Australian English, Indian English, French, French Canadian, Italian, Spanish, Spanish (Mexico), Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Catalan, Croatian,  German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian (Bokmål), Russian, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Croatian, Romanian, Turkish, Ukrainian, Hungarian, Traditional Chinese, Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong), Simplified Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Arabic, Thai, Greek, Hebrew, Indonesian, and Malay.

Developers often ask which languages iPhone supports, but more critically, which languages should they support in their own iPhone apps? Obviously supporting all of Apple’s language choices above is costly and time-consuming, so you want to begin with the largest markets. An even more important consideration is that you’ll only be able to market your app effectively in the languages supported by App Store.

Yep, the iTunes App Store supports a different set of languages than the iPhone itself. Continue reading “What are the languages iPhone supports for localization?”