PSA: Windows default CJK fonts changes

[Koji Ishii]

Hi folks,

The default CJK fonts on Windows are going to change, to prefer Noto CJK if they are installed locally.

This change is to improve the readability and typography of CJK text. Recent CSS features such as `text-spacing-trim` (shipped in M123) and `font-variant-east-asian` require OpenType features that are not available in the current default CJK fonts. In addition, Noto CJK is primarily designed for magazines, similar to Hiragino on macOS, which is a good fit for the default fonts for the web.

This change includes preferring Noto CJK in the system fallback on Windows. This means that, if the user installed Noto CJK locally, and the page doesn't specify fonts that can serve CJK characters, the Noto CJK will be preferred.

Please let me know if there are any questions.

[Joone Hur]

Hi Koji,

Is Noto Sans KR part of NotoCJK? If so, is it the default Korean font for Noto CJK?

https://fonts.google.com/noto/specimen/Noto+Sans+KR

Thanks,

Joone

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[PhistucK]

What is the percentage of (relevant) users that have that font installed?

Is it very common for (relevant) non-power-users to install fonts?

☆PhistucK

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[Koji Ishii]

Joone:

Is Noto Sans KR part of NotoCJK? If so, is it the default Korean font for Noto CJK?

Yes.

PhstucK:

What is the percentage of (relevant) users that have that font installed?
Is it very common for (relevant) non-power-users to install fonts?

Sorry I don't have the number, and thus I can't answer how common it is. I can see the Noto CJK is the most popular font at Google Fonts for all CJK languages though.

I understand this change may not have much impact, but it's still a progression. We're looking into multiple options to improve the i18n typography, such as updating `fixed` generic family as well, and I'm hoping this will be the first change in the series.

[Dominik Röttsches]

Hi Koji, 

Thanks for improving the system font choices. Can you share some details in how this is implemented in terms of interfacing with the preferences architecture and changes users may have made in settings for selecting a specific font for CJK languages? 

Dominik

[PhistucK]

Another way could be to include the font as part of the Windows Chrome, I guess? This way, everyone benefits.

☆PhistucK

[Koji Ishii]

Dominik:

Can you share some details in how this is implemented in terms of interfacing with the preferences architecture and changes users may have made in settings for selecting a specific font for CJK languages?

They won't change. The changes will be for selecting the default value for the preferences. If a user changes their preferences, they will be honored.

PhistucK:

Another way could be to include the font as part of the Windows Chrome, I guess? This way, everyone benefits.

Thanks, you're right, that's one of the possible options we're discussing.

[一丝]

As I understand it, the font features of Source Han and Noto CJK are almost the same. So should we fallback to Source Han when Noto CJK doesn't exist?

[Koji Ishii]

yiorsi, thank you for the suggestion. I'll add it to my list to investigate.