Phablets with big screens are awesome for watching videos, browsing the web, and more, but they can be a pain to type on, especially if you’re trying to type one-handed. Some device makers address this by included a one-hand mode for their keyboard, but Apple doesn’t do that for the Plus models of its iPhones. Not officially, at least.
Developer Steve Troughton-Smith recently showed that the iOS keyboard includes a one-handed mode that’ll push the keyboard over to one side of the phone and make it easier to type with one hand. This keyboard, which Troughton-Smith says has been in iOS since iOS 8, can be pushed to the left or right edge and is activated by an edge-swipe.
When pushed to one side, iOS fills the space on the other side with cut, copy, and paste buttons.
Video or it didn't happen: (very hard to engage in the Simulator with a mouse cursor) pic.twitter.com/vw2wpCgiLJ
— Steve T-S (@stroughtonsmith) October 19, 2016
Unfortunately, this keyboard isn’t officially supported in iOS, so you can’t easily activate it if you’ve got an iPhone 6 Plus, 6s Plus, or 7 Plus. You’d have to jailbreak your phone to use this feature, and Troughton-Smith has even shed some light on how you’d enable this one-handed keyboard with a jailbreak.
It’s unclear why Apple hasn’t officially implemented this one-handed keyboard, especially if it’s been in iOS since iOS 8. I’m sure that there are some iPhone 6 Plus, 6s Plus, and 7 Plus owners out there that would appreciate having this feature become official, though. Here’s to hoping that Apple changes its mind and eventually enables it.
Do you ever use a one-handed keyboard on your phablet?
