4 tricks to type faster and better (in iOS 16)

Typing an email, sending a WhatsApp message or making a post on Instagram: you type a lot on your smartphone and tablet. Do you want to learn to type faster and better on your iPhone and iPad? With these four iPad and iPhone tips you can do it in no time!

iPad and iPhone Tips: 4 Tricks to Type Faster and Better (in iOS 16)

More than four in ten Dutch people use their smartphone for three hours or more a day. Social media and reading news take up most of this time. Typing messages, e-mails and other things is often done on the smartphone or tablet. That’s why in these iPhone tips we’ll show you 4 tricks to type faster (and better)!

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1. Using Text Substitution

When you use certain words often, it will of course take a lot of time to type the whole word every time. Fortunately, there is a solution for that. You can come up with an abbreviation yourself that your iPhone (or iPad) then automatically converts to the whole word (or sentence). You set this up in the following way.

• Tap the ‘Settings’ button;
• Scroll down, tap on ‘General > Keyboard’;
• Choose ‘Text replacement’ and tap the plus sign at the top right;
• Type the word (or phrase) after ‘Sentence’
• Enter the abbreviation after ‘Keyword’;
• Tap “Save” to save the text replacement.

Once you’ve saved the text replacement, you can use it right away. Type the abbreviation and a space. The abbreviation disappears and is automatically replaced with the word or phrase you set.

2. Use the keyboard to move the cursor

With longer sentences and pieces of text, an error sometimes creeps in. It is then quite difficult to get the cursor in the right place to fix this. This is because your finger hides exactly where you need to be.

However, there is an easier way to move your cursor. Hold down your finger on the space bar until all the letters (and the space bar) turn gray. You can then move the cursor by swiping your finger across the screen. You can then use the space bar as a kind of touchpad on your MacBook Air or laptop.

3. Easier typing with one hand

Have you ever been on a crowded train or bus? Then you know that it is quite difficult to type. You then use one hand to hold on to a chair or pole in the bouncing bus and then try to type your WhatsApp messages with the other hand.

With the special trick from these iPhone tips you can change the keyboard so that typing with one hand is a lot easier. You do this in the following way.

• Open the keyboard in, for example, WhatsApp, Telegram or another app of your choice;
• Hold down your finger on the globe at the bottom left;
• In the appeared menu, choose the icon with the keyboard and an arrow to the right or left (depending on which hand you want to type with);
• The keyboard collapses and you can now easily reach all keys with one hand.

To get back to the normal keyboard, hold down your finger on the globe. Then choose the middle keyboard icon.

4. Use special characters and accented letters on iPhone and iPad

When you view the iOS keyboard, you won’t see any special letters by default. However, there is an easy way to type letters like ‘é’, ‘ï’ or ‘û’. You have to hold down the corresponding letter for a while. For example, do you want to type the ‘é’? Then hold down the letter ‘e’. An extra menu with the different letter options will soon appear.

You can do this with almost all letters and even some punctuation marks. Just try what signs you can find that way!

More iPhone Tips for iOS 16

Are you looking for more great tips for your iPhone or iPad? Then read ‘3 hidden features in iOS 16 (that you really need to know)’. Also check out the article about 3 well-hidden functions in popular and well-known apps. Also nice for the iPhone owner: an article about Top Widgets. This allows you to add all kinds of fun and useful widgets to your iPhone.