Amazon co-founder MacKenzie Scott has donated over $19 billion to charity in just five years
Diamond batteries powered by nuclear waste promise 28,000 years of clean energy
Turn Your Keyboard into a Trackpad
While it’s a well-known trick, for those unfamiliar, it’s a game changer. It can be tough to pinpoint a specific letter in a word when you need to edit your text. Simply press and hold on the space bar and the keyboard area will transform into a trackpad, allowing you to place your cursor precisely where you want it. You’ll know it’s working when all the letters vanish.
Undo by Shaking
We all make mistakes. One of the most useful computer features is the ability to undo. Wouldn’t it be great to have that option in real life? Dropped an ice cream cone? A quick ⌘ Z and it’s back in your hand, ready to eat. On an iPhone, while not immediately obvious, a slightly odd gesture works in many apps. I use it often, and it usually surprises those around me. Simply shake your smartphone vigorously. Once done, a prompt will ask if you want to undo your last action.
Additionally, swiping three fingers to the left performs an “Undo,” and swiping to the right a “Redo.”
Type by Sliding
Tired of tapping out text letter by letter? You can write without lifting your finger from your iPhone’s surface. Slide your finger from letter to letter, and the algorithm will attempt to predict the word you want to insert. Remember to lift your finger off the screen between words, signaling to the iPhone that you’ve finished typing a word. This method works surprisingly well, and I know several people who exclusively use this typing technique.
This feature is usually enabled by default, but if not, go to Settings > General > Keyboard and make sure “Slide to Type” is turned on.
Text Replacement
If you find yourself repeatedly typing the same phrases, you can set up a shortcut that will be replaced with a full phrase of your choosing. Be careful not to choose a shortcut that frequently appears in other words. Personally, I use this on Mac, not on iPhone, and I always opt for shortcuts beginning with “;”, minimizing accidental triggers. To create your own replacements, navigate to Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement.
Tired of Typing? Dictate!
Instead of typing, you can also dictate the text you want to enter. To do this, go to Settings > General > Keyboard and ensure that “Enable Dictation” is selected. Then, you can tap the microphone icon on the keyboard which activates dictation.
It’s also possible to insert punctuation and even emojis!
NASA warns China could slow Earth’s rotation with one simple move
This dog endured 27 hours of labor and gave birth to a record-breaking number of puppies
Perform Conversions
Your iPhone’s keyboard can perform all sorts of conversions without needing to leave your favorite app. Just check in Settings > General > Keyboard that the option “Enable Math Results” is active. Then, simply type a number with a unit, like cm or C for Celsius, followed by the equals sign, and the iPhone will suggest a conversion. Similarly, if you type a calculation followed by the equals sign, the iPhone will offer to enter the result.
The keyboard will either allow you to enter the text, the text with the result of the conversion or calculation, or just the result of the calculation.
CAPS LOCK
I strongly advise against typing in all caps. However, there may be times when you need to enter a series of capital letters, for instance, when typing acronyms or initials. For this, press the shift key twice. You will then see that the shift icon (⇧) changes to indicate caps lock (⇪).
Entering a Currency Other than the Euro
There are times when you need to type a currency symbol other than the Euro. This works in the same way as selecting accents. Simply press and hold on the € key, and iOS will offer you other currencies like the dollar, pound, or yen.
One-Handed Keyboard
This discreet mode allows you to shift the keys toward the left or right side of the screen, making it easier to type with just one thumb.
First, you need to enable the option in the settings. Go to Settings > General > Keyboard > One-Handed Keyboard and choose yes, selecting right or left.
Once enabled, simply open any app that displays the keyboard (Messages, Notes, WhatsApp…). When the keyboard appears, locate the globe icon 🌐 at the bottom left of the keyboard. With a long press on the globe, you can switch keyboards and also choose the one-handed keyboard on the right or left.
Then choose the keyboard that suits you based on which hand you use your phone with.
What keyboard tips do you use every day?