Speed Up Text Editing With iPhone's Hidden Trackpad - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Speed Up Text Editing With iPhone's Hidden Trackpad

by

Navigating and editing text on your iPhone can sometimes feel cumbersome, especially when trying to precisely place the cursor. Fortunately, Apple has integrated a hidden feature in the virtual keyboard that can make this task much easier. Here's how to unlock and utilize this powerful tool to streamline your text editing.

iphone hidden trackpad tip
The next time you are writing something a little more lengthy and need to go back and change something, simply long-press the space bar, and the on-screen keyboard will transform into a trackpad that you can use to control the cursor. This allows you to navigate quickly through your text, moving the cursor to any desired spot with ease.

But that's not all. If you tap the trackpad with another finger while in this mode, you can also select chunks of text. This dual-functionality makes editing and tweaking text on your iPhone a breeze. Give it a try next time you're typing a message or note.

notes
If you're looking to cut down on the amount of time you spend performing certain actions on your iPhone, there's usually a solution hidden in Apple's mobile operating system. Check out our 20 quick iOS tips that once you start using will make you a lot more time-efficient in the long run.

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple to Launch These 15+ New Products Later This Year

Friday March 27, 2026 2:03 pm PDT by
March has been an incredibly busy month for Apple, with the company unveiling more than 10 new products and accessories. We said hello to the MacBook Neo at the start of the month, and we bid farewell to the Mac Pro at the end of it. Nevertheless, there is still a lot more to come this year. Beyond the usual annual updates to iPhones and Apple Watches, Apple's all-new smart home hub is...
iOS 26

iOS 26.4 Adds Two New Features to CarPlay

Tuesday March 24, 2026 1:55 pm PDT by
iOS 26.4 was released today, and it includes a couple of new features for CarPlay: an Ambient Music widget and support for voice-based chatbot apps. To update your iPhone 11 or newer to iOS 26.4, open the Settings app and tap on General → Software Update. CarPlay will automatically offer the new features so long as the iPhone connected to your vehicle is running iOS 26.4 or later....
Mac Pro Feature Teal

Apple Confirms Mac Pro Is Dead, No Future Models Planned

Thursday March 26, 2026 2:04 pm PDT by
Apple has discontinued the Mac Pro and has removed the machine from its website, reports 9to5Mac. Apple said it does not plan to design a new version of the Mac Pro, and no new model will be coming in the future. The Mac Pro was last updated in 2023, which was when Apple added an M2 Ultra Apple silicon chip, but the chassis has not been refreshed since 2019. Apple redesigned the Mac Pro to...