What fonts are used in Android (beside Roboto)

[deeper]

Hi there,
after months I'm almost ready with redesign of my site, where I use Verdana, Arial and Georgia im my stylesheet (font-family...). I still like them and more important all my testing happened with them, but they are not "web safe" any more. Most OS have metric compatible, almost identical "brother fonts". So I can name these in my stylesheet (font-family: ...) instead, for example DejaVu Sans on Linux is an equivalent for Verdana. But Android fonts are difficult it seems. And Android devices are very spread.

Does anybody know 
• what fonts there are in Android beside Roboto, which unfortunately doesn't fit for one of the three,
• if there are fonts in Android, which are metric compatible with the three MS classics? Just if anybody knows... I can test and explore it myself after knowing all of the system fonts in Android.

Thanks,

Martin

[lucy24]

:: google, google ::

OK. Now I understand why you didn’t try that rather obvious solution yourself. The top result is a post from That Other Forum from fifteen years ago, and the rest of the SERP is not much better.

Meanwhile, I hope all your font specifications include “serif” or “sans-serif” at the end of the list.

<tangent>
At this point I detoured to look at my own site on my own Android, which is a few years old but definitely not fifteen. It doesn't come through in Palatino (my longtime preferred serif font) but it was a pretty decent substitute--not something unreadable like Times New Roman.
</tangent>

[deeper]

I tried to find the answer with Google and even got a current answer, but the only font I always read about was Roboto (which I already mentioned in the post).

Only one? Couldn't believe it.

[tangor]

Android natively supports 4 fonts (theirs). They do honor "serif" and "sans-serif" declarations.

You CAN package your own preferred font collection in a woff2, but keep it reasonable, say 2-5 fonts at about <100k. The browser WILL have to download this to display the text! Good thing is that download will have to happen only ONCE per session for any user.

At present, it appears, the only WEB SAFE fonts are SERIF and SANS-SERIF---and when you stop and REALLY think about it, that does cover dang near everything that one needs with fonts!

[lucy24]

Continuing ... It sounds as if you’re not contemplating the third-party-massive-googleapis-font-download approach. Android is able to use those, but it's another burden on users when you don’t know what they’ve got in the way of bandwidth and connection speeds. (Do as I say, Not as I do: I use custom fonts in a few places, mostly for headers and the like, but the files live on the site and I‘ve stripped them down to the character set that’s likely to be needed.)

I took a repeat visit to my site with the Android, and confirmed one more essential: its font library may be small, but within that serif : sans-serif : monospace* range, it can display any character you ask it to. (While investigating this, I was a bit gobsmacked to find G### rearing its head on one page, offering to translate from Simplified Chinese. The page in question is actually in UCAS syllabics**. Easy mistake to make.)

* I don’t know what it does for the final two options, “cursive” and “fantasy”, but how often does one call for those?
** On the principle of “ATM machine” or “PIN number”. Oops.

[tangor]

ASIDE:

How badly does the content appear on Android in their native font schemes? Is it egregiously hideous?

If not, just rely on SERIF and SANS-SERIF for the nitty gritty Headings and Body stuff, then apply Size, Bold, Italic, Underscore, Strike-through for all the rest. Add Color, as needed, for impact.

I don't own a cell phone/mobile so might be full of farmer's-friend, but I HAVE viewed my website(s) on friends phones of various makes. For the most part I've been satisfied with the end results, even when things "break" a bit differently than I originally coded.

In the end it is the WORDS/CONTENT that matters most, not "how pretty the text looks".

[deeper]

@tangor:

Android natively supports 4 fonts (theirs). They do honor "serif" and "sans-serif" declarations.

What four? Roboto in three variations and Noto Serif?

How badly does the content appear on Android in their native font schemes? Is it egregiously hideous?

Not hideous and hey, Roboto is a good looking, legible web font. But for example compared with Verdana in 13 for small smartphone viewports it's noticeably smaller than Verdana, smaller in height and width. Android will use its Roboto, keeping the font-size of my stylesheet (13, aiming for Verdana). Then the issue begins with my text heavy article pages.
Lets say I do testing again and Roboto in 15 may be good for article text, but 15 is way too big for other fonts/OS, for example DejaVu Sans on Linux, which is metric compatible with Verdana.

Besides I have small images and floating text like article style of newspapers. The place there now is too small for Linux and Co., resulting in short lines near the image, with only max. 20 charactern on the lower end of the viewport.
Verdana also is the font for my table of content with my headings there, which are partly relatively big. Small smartphone viewports (media queries) may break them in a second line.

At the moment this is all tested and pretty fine. My main concern is not about "pretty", but about being legible in smaller viewports.

This is just Verdana for running text and table of content, but there is also Arial for my nav anchors and footer text. And there is Georgia for headings.
Even if Roboto would be metric compatible with Verdana, what about Georgia and Arial? I fear, Androids four fonts have no equivalents for them.

It seems as if my idea of a simple solution by using a comprehensive font family stack, naming equivalent fonts of all OS, is not possible because of Android. At least regarding Verdana and its equivalents. May be Noto serif or Roboto could substitute Arial oder Georgia, one of them, as almost metric compatible.

Finding three free fonts and self hosting them... or buying licences for MS fonts, which will sum up to about 300 $ at myfonts.com

@lucy24:
Woff2 files for regular, bold, italic and bold italic fonts substituting Verdana, for example DejaVu sans.
Additional files substituting Arial (regular and bold) and a bold version of Georgia substitute.
Seven fonts in woff2.
This may influence speed on mobile.

[lucy24]

Please say you’re not specifying a numeric point size. That should be left to the user, with larger and smaller sizes set proportionally.

Consider, too, that Android users are accustomed to seeing everything in just a handful of fonts. It may look “off” to you, but it won’t to the visitor.

[deeper]

font sizes are defined in "em" and browser standard of 1em = 16px ist not touched.
User can zoom and change the font size in browser and OS (my users are not tech savvy and won't change it often).

Consider, too, that Android users are accustomed to seeing everything in just a handful of fonts. It may look “off” to you, but it won’t to the visitor.

Hm, style of the font may be a question of custom and habit, but if the size is (too) small with Roboto substituting Verdana, then it's (too) small, isn't it?
Being acquainted with Roboto won't help then, I guess.
But I admit I'm not a smartphone user and may underrate the natural adjusting of text by many users.

[tangor]

But I admit I'm not a smartphone user and may underrate the natural adjusting of text by many users.

Watching friends with their phones, I can say they zoom in and out all the time.

Might just stick to the important things!

[deeper]

Watching friends with their phones, I can say they zoom in and out all the time.

Not knowing your friends, let me ask: Doing what? Reading big articles oder watching images on pinterest, instagram ect. :)

I think legible fonts are important for big articles.

For my part, I don't read article text on smartphones at all. I need a big monitor and don't understand why people use tiny smartphones for a lot of things, "torturing" their eyes and fingers.

[lucy24]

I need a big monitor and don't understand why people use tiny smartphones for a lot of things, "torturing" their eyes and fingers.

I think most participants in this thread feel the same ;) but what can you do. I know from my site logs that people really do read multi-chapter books on their phones. (Where are they, that they don't have access to at least a tablet? In waiting rooms where everything is running several hours late? In bed? On the bus? Ours not to reason why.)

[tangor]

It's a simple fact that phones are out-pacing pc use and there's nothing going to change that. Phone is too convenient, glue-to-the-hip and usable just about anywhere.

Code for your audience.

Yes, my friends do read long articles, some even read full length novels simply because that is the device they have. I've never heard any of them complaining about "unreadable" sites.

What little info I've found on Android installed fonts led to this font stack common to all Android phones (ca. 2020), but each phone mfgr has fonts of their own installed and the USER can download a LARGE number of fonts, many that are familiar from the old Web Safe category, though it does take a bit of effort on the part of the user to enter settings, dip into display/wallpapers, fonts, then add fonts. I don't think many will be doing that, but you never know!

 FONT FAMILY       TTF FILE
1 casual          ComingSoon.ttf
2 cursive         DancingScript-Regular.ttf
3 monospace       DroidSansMono.ttf
4 sans-serif        Roboto-Regular.ttf
5 sans-serif-black      Roboto-Black.ttf
6 sans-serif-condensed   RobotoCondensed-Regular.ttf
7 sans-serif-condensed-light RobotoCondensed-Light.ttf
8 sans-serif-light      Roboto-Light.ttf;
9 sans-serif-medium    Roboto-Medium.ttf
10 sans-serif-smallcaps   CarroisGothicSC-Regular.ttf
11 sans-serif-thin      Roboto-Thin.ttf
12 serif          NotoSerif-Regular.ttf
13 serif-monospace    CutiveMono.ttf

[No5needinput]

Reminded me of this thread.

Thinking of Going Font-less - Website with Zero Fonts... Good idea?

[webmasterworld.com ]

[deeper]

@tangor:
Roboto variations and Noto Serif, o.k., thanks.

Probably I will selfhost equivalent fonts like DejaVu Sans for Verdana and Gelasia for Georgia.

Yes, several font files will have to be downloaded by users, but woff2-files are small and probably loading speed can be helped by any special features like preload, caching ect. (suggestions are welcome).
It will be a "static" site, just done with HTML, CSS and one single, vanilla JS. No data base. Therefore loading speed should be fine, even mobile.

I want to be sure to have a consistent layout with my big and complex article pages, adjusting responsive properly like in my testings.
Whatever Android and Co. will change with their font policy in future, I will be safe and independant from this.

User can change settings, yes, but user doing this know what they do and nevertheless I want to give a well-done basis even for this scenario.
So, they can still zoom if they like it very big, but it won't be really necessary.

[lucy24]

I don't know if there is a default expiration date for font files, but it wouldn't hurt to set an ExpiresByType declaration of some ridiculously long time, since obviously the fonts will never change. That way, you can be sure people who come back in a week don't have to download it all over again.

[deeper]

Good idea, makes sense.
My htacess doesn't have ExpiresByType declaration for woff2 right now as I have never needed it so far.