I’ve already lost count of the number of people I’ve helped understand how the iPhone works, its iOS 17, and the countless tricks the system hides. This makes me make the mistake of thinking that I know all of Apple’s secrets… until something so simple happened that I had completely overlooked.
It turns out that there is a way to write numbers and symbols on the iPhone keyboard in a very fast and comfortable way that I had no idea about. And no, I’m not talking about the trick of sliding your finger down while writing. The secret this time is in the ‘123’ key.
Don’t press it, leave it pressed
The ‘123’ key is present on the keyboard of all languages offered by iOS and allows us to switch to numbers and symbols on the keyboard. If we press it, we go from the standard keyboard to this one:
To return to the standard keyboard, simply press the ‘123’ key again. There is now an easier way to write numbers if you do it by holding down this key. In other words, instead of performing the sequence of presses before and after, you can:
- Press and hold the “123” key.
- Write the numbers you need with another finger
- Stop pressing the “123” key.
This way you can write the numbers on the fly, calling up the numeric keypad only while you hold down the “123” key. You obtain more speed and ease in writing.
What’s more, you can even press the “123” key and, from there, swipe to the desired number without it stopping touching the screen. In other words, you slide your finger from the “123” key to the number. Another very simple and straightforward way to type a number without having to press three fingers or dial the number pad.
The “big brother” of this tip: swipe to write on the iPhone
I admit that I didn’t know about these very specific gestures, but I’m definitely going to start using them almost always because they match a lot with the way I write on my iPhone. Now what I know for sure is that there are ways to quickly write text on iPhone that are unfairly underrated.
I mean Write by sliding your finger across letters instead of touching each key individually. It’s something I use whenever I need to write a long text, and in the long run my thumbs don’t hurt as much. It’s active by default on all iPhones, so you can try it now. Instead of pressing each key separately, simply slide your finger from letter to letter to form the word you’re looking for. For me, a relief.
In Applesfera | iOS 17 ends one of the most hated problems: predictive text
In Applesfera | The TouchBar returns to Mac in this patent, but not in the way we hoped
