Do You Know: Your iPhone’s Keyboard Has a Hidden Mouse

In, Apple’s iPhone 10 year history it has undergone many changes to make typing on it a good experience. Editing text can still be a pain, we know we deal with it every day. To solve this, iPhones with 3D Touch have a secret feature that makes moving the cursor easy, fast and precise.

A solid touch

The default iOS keyboard on any 3D Touch iPhone has a hidden trackpad. To activate it, press firmly on any key until you see the keys turn blank and feel a haptic tap. The keyboard basically becomes a trackpad and as you slide your finger around the keyboard, the onscreen cursor follows.

If you want to select text, ease the pressure you apply to the screen without letting go, then press firmly again to start highlighting text. This maneuver takes some getting used to, but once you do, one-handed edits are a breeze.

Does it work on older iPhones?

No matter which iPhone you have, there are two ways to move the cursor for edits. The first way is to tap on the screen where you want the cursor to go. This works passably, but as you can see it is not very accurate.

The second way is to press and hold on the screen to bring up the magnifying glass. This works better than tapping, but sometimes your finger can hide the cursor.

Picture credit: Josh Miller/CNET