Nihongo 1.36 brings iPhone Duo support and Two Column Reading Mode

Nihongo 1.36 brings support for iPhone Duo and a new way to read Japanese with dictionary definitions right beside your text or photo.

The app adapts as you fold and unfold your iPhone Duo, making use of both displays. In the new Two Column Reading Mode, you can keep a Clipping or photo in view while looking up words alongside it. Two Column Reading Mode requires iOS 27.1 or later and works on iPhone Duo and iPad.

This update also improves on-device Photo Lookup, adds labels to help distinguish similar characters in handwriting search, and includes a number of fixes for flashcards, Clippings, and kanji entries.

I'm also starting a monthly newsletter this month, if you'd like to keep up with all the updates across my apps, you can sign up here: https://nihongo-app.com/#feature-update-signup

I'll continue posting release notes on this blog and more behind-the-scenes kind of stuff when I have it. The newsletter will be a summary of what I've added in the last month, and what I'm working on next. See you there!

Major Features

• iPhone Duo Support - Nihongo adapts as you fold and unfold your iPhone Duo, making the most of both displays.
• Two Column Reading Mode - Read Clippings and use Photo Lookup with dictionary definitions beside your text or photo, on iPad and iPhone Duo.

Other Improvements

• Add labels to handwriting suggestions to distinguish similar hiragana, katakana, and kanji characters.
• Replace the retired OCR.space option with improved on-device Photo Lookup, including vertical Japanese text on iOS 26 and later.
• Add a monthly newsletter signup. Join from Settings for app news and upcoming features.
• Improve the app icon’s appearance in Dark Mode.

Bug Fixes

• Fix kanji reading examples to show spellings containing the kanji you’re viewing.
• Fix Dutch, Spanish, French, and German translations.
• Fix word flashcard text shrinking after the first card appears.
• Fix flashcard content being obscured when Reduce Transparency is enabled on iOS 26.
• Fix the appearance of Done buttons when editing notes or completing flashcard sessions on iOS 26 and later.
• Fix some kanji elements appearing blank in kanji breakdowns.
• Fix kanji-element headings being hidden behind navigation buttons in iPad popovers.
• Fix incorrect word counts and a possible crash when navigating highlighted words in Clippings.
• Fix Photo Lookup failing to open images supplied by Shortcuts.
• Fix the tab bar disappearing when switching tabs as a flashcard session opens.
• Fix clipped letters in flashcard editor note previews.
• Fix the radical keyboard appearing empty after resizing an iPad window.