Seventeen years ago, Apple introduced the iPhone, the first mainstream consumer phone to feature a touchscreen as its primary input method. Over nearly two decades, Apple has continuously refined its onscreen keyboard, incorporating several impressive features that enhance typing speed and ease. However, some of these features can easily go unnoticed. Here are some tips and tricks you should be using if you haven't already.

1. Access Special Symbols and Diacritics

When you long-press certain keys on your iPhone's keyboard, you gain access to special characters like accented letters, currency symbols, and less common punctuation marks. These diacritical marks, which include accents, dots, macrons, slashes, and others, modify how letters are pronounced, affecting pitch, stress, or syllable emphasis.

To explore all the special characters on your iPhone's keyboard, check out our comprehensive guide to hidden iOS keyboard characters. There, you'll also find each character's name, usage, and compatibility with different iOS versions.

• Full List: Every Hidden Special Character on Your iPhone's Keyboard That You Can Unlock Right Now

2. Use the Domain Name Extensions Shortcut

When entering an email or website address in a compatible field, your iPhone offers a hidden keyboard shortcut: quick access to common top-level domains. Start typing the username@rootdomain part of an email or the http://www.miracleart.cn/link/44e8c3e9d4a9b627e1c2d22b92d048f6 portion of a URL (you don’t always need to type the protocol or subdomain), then long-press the period (.) key or .com key.

You’ll see options like .com, .net, .org, .edu, and .us. Swipe to your desired extension and release to insert it. This works in any field where iOS recognizes email or web addresses, such as the email and website fields in contacts or the Safari search bar. It won’t work in standard text fields.

The domain extensions displayed depend on the keyboards installed on your iPhone. For instance, the English (US) keyboard provides .com, .net, .org, .edu, and .us, while adding English (UK) adds .eu, .uk, .ie, and .co.uk.

• Complete Guide: Add More Domain Extensions to Your iPhone's Keyboard Shortcut to Type Email Addresses or Website URLs Faster

3. Switch Between Keyboard Views Faster

Typing numbers or special characters among regular letters, like during Wi-Fi passwords or coupon codes, often involves switching between keyboard views. Instead of repeatedly tapping the "123" key, try these faster methods.

With two hands:

1. Long-press the ABC, 123, # =, or Shift key without letting go.
2. Tap the needed key(s) with your other hand.
3. Release the initial key to return to the previous view.

With one hand:

1. Long-press the ABC, 123, # =, or Shift key without letting go.
2. Slide your finger to the desired key.
3. If needed, stay above the parent key to access hidden characters, then slide to the specific character.
4. Release your finger to return to the previous view.

4. Unlock the Hidden Trackpad

Though not immediately apparent, your iPhone’s keyboard doubles as a trackpad, one of my favorite iOS features. Introduced with 3D Touch on iPhone 6S models running iOS 9, this gesture became available on all iPhones starting with iOS 12 through Haptic Touch.

To activate the trackpad, long-press the spacebar until all keys go blank. Then, slide your finger across the new trackpad to move the cursor in a text field. Release to return to the regular keyboard.

• Don't Miss: Turn Your iPhone's Keyboard into a Trackpad for Easier Cursor Placement

5. Use the One-Handed Keyboard

When typing with one hand, try the iPhone’s one-handed keyboard, which shifts the layout to either side for easier thumb typing.

To enable this, long-press the globe (or emoji) icon and select the left or right keyboard icon. The keyboard will shift to that side, reducing its width by about 25%. Return to full width by selecting the center keyboard icon in the globe menu.

• More Info: This Trick Makes It Easier to Type on Your iPhone with One Hand

6. Slide to Type Words Faster

Swipe-based typing debuted on Android before arriving on iPhones via third-party apps like TouchPal, Swype, and SwiftKey. Apple’s version, “Slide to Type,” works seamlessly without requiring third-party access to your typing data.

To use this feature, touch the first letter of the word, slide to the next letters consecutively, and release after the final letter. The keyboard will automatically insert the word. Continue this process, and it will add spaces between words.

Slide to Type is enabled by default. If it’s not working, go to Settings ? General ? Keyboard, and ensure the “Slide to Type” toggle is on. You can also disable it from here.

7. Reset Your Keyboard's Dictionary

Your iPhone learns from corrections and suggestions, remembering words you type correctly. However, it may also pick up errors, making it challenging to retrain.

If your keyboard suggests incorrect words frequently, resetting the dictionary might help. This also clears commonly used emoji.

Go to Settings ? General ? Transfer or Reset iPhone, tap “Reset,” then choose “Reset Keyboard Dictionary.” Confirm with your passcode. Resetting the dictionary removes frequent emoji and auto-corrected words but keeps custom text replacements.

• Don't Miss: 12 Reasons Why You Should Be Using Text Replacements on Your iPhone, iPad, or Mac

8. Quickly Replace Message Text with Emoji

Sometimes, emoji express thoughts better than words. If you prefer typing first and replacing later, type normally, then switch to the Emoji keyboard. Messages highlights words suitable for emoji substitution. Tap highlighted words to see suggestions and select the desired emoji.

• Don't Miss: 9 Emoji Tricks Most iPhone Owners Never Knew Existed

9. Unlock the Secret Emoticon Keyboard

While everyone uses emoji, try their predecessor, emoticons—short for “emotion icons.” Composed of ASCII characters, emoticons depict emotions and actions. Your iPhone hides an emoticon keyboard for quick access.

Add a Japanese or Chinese keyboard to your list to reveal emoticons. For Japanese, use Kana or Remaji keyboards; most Chinese keyboards work too. Look for the emoticon key, tap it, and explore the picker. Find more details in our complete guide.

• Complete Guide: How to Unlock the Secret Emoticon Keyboard on Your iPhone

10. Make Your iPhone Speak Typed Words

When typing rapidly, it helps to confirm accuracy audibly. An iOS accessibility feature allows your iPhone to read typed words aloud.

Navigate to Settings ? Accessibility ? Spoken Content ? Typing Feedback. Enable “Speak Words” to hear each word spoken aloud. You can also opt to hear individual characters, auto-text, or predictive text.

• More Info: Unlock Your iPhone's Many Hidden Text-to-Speech Features to Make It Read Virtually Any On-Screen Content

Don't Miss: 32 Things You Didn't Know About Your iPhone's Keyboard

Cover photo, screenshots, and GIFs by Gadget Hacks

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