IF you’re an iPhone user looking to improve your texting speed then you need to try some of these tricks.
We’ve rounded up some of the best iPhone keyboard features that you may have never heard of.
1
Take the ‘QuickPath’
Apple’s ‘swipe to text’ feature has been available since iOS 13 came out.
However, many people still don’t realise it exists.
Dubbed QuickPath, the tool lets you swipe between letters rather than tap them to turn you into a writing machine.
To use it, make sure you’re using iOS 13 or above and then just go to your Messages app and start swiping between letters on the keyboard.
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Make sure you’re using Apple’s default keyboard rather than a third-party one you’ve downloaded yourself.
When you start typing a word, leave your finger on the keyboard and swipe between letters.
So, if you were typing “Sun”, you’d place your finger on “S”, then slide to “U” and finally “N” without removing your finger.
Once you’ve finished the word, lift your digit and iOS will automatically add a space so you can start typing the next word.
For words with two letters in a row, such as “happy”, you don’t need to swipe to the “P” twice.
Simply move from “P” to “Y” and the keyboard should detect you want an extra letter.
Type accented symbols
If you’re trying to write a fancy foreign word like voilà or El Niño – or even Pokémon – you’ll need accented letters.
It’s easy enough: simply long press on the letter you want to accent.
You’ll see a shortcut menu appear from which you can tap the accented letter of your choice.
Unlock website endings
If you’re trying to type a web link, it can be frustrating to tap out the .org or .edu.
A better solution is to long-press on the full stop, which will bring up shortcuts for many popular website endings.
This should make it easier to quickly write a website’s address.
Add punctuation faster
Tapping out full stops might not seem like a burden, but it does slow you down.
That’s why Apple has built a cheeky shortcut into iOS to make it even easier to end a sentence.
If you tap the space bar twice after a word, the first space will convert into a full stop.
That way you can keep typing using only letters and the space bar, without ever having to reach down for the full stop.
One-handed keyboard
If you prefer to type with one hand on your iPhone you need to
The one handed keyboards could have been hiding in your phone for a while and they’re very easy to access on any app you want to type in.
First you need to go on the app you want to type in and make sure the keyboard is open.
Then look in the bottom left hand corner and touch and hold the emoji face or world symbol – newer phones will have the emoji face symbol.
When you hold the emoji or world symbol down, a small “Keyboard Settings” box should appear and on the bottom row you will see three different keyboard symbols.
Tap the symbol on the left to get a keyboard that’s easier to type on with just your left hand.
Tap the symbol on the right to get a keyboard that’s easier to type on with just your right hand.
Once you’re finished using your one handed keyboard, you can return it to normal by holding down the bottom corner emoji or world symbol and selecting the middle keyboard option.
Hidden keyboard trackpad
Editing a message on your iPhone is way harder than it has any right to be – but this easy trick turns the phone’s keyboard into a laptop-style trackpad with a cursor that you can move by touching the screen.
With it, you’ll be able to precisely go back and forth between each character in a text without having to furiously tap the display.
Simply hold down the space bar when you’ve typed some text, and the keyboard will turn into a track-pad.
You can then use this virtual track-pad to move your cursor much more easily.
If you own an iPhone 6S or later, you can also use 3D Touch – which is Apple’s nickname for pressing hard on the screen.
Do a 3D Touch hard press anywhere on the keyboard and you’ll unlock the same hidden trackpad.
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