Spend many hours on your iPhone every day, and a large portion of that time is spent typing on the keyboard. By now, you've definitely learned the basics, like how to swipe up on the keyboard instead of typing, or how the globe key can help you switch between different keyboards. But there are many other hidden or weird features on the iPhone keyboard that you may not have encountered yet — here are some to try, according to lifehacker.

One of the biggest problems with a touch screen keyboard is text selection. Apple tries to make it easier with a magnifying loop, but you still aren't always sure where your cursor is and how much text is being selected. You can fix this by turning your entire keyboard into a cursor trackpad. Press and hold the spacebar. Now, as you move your finger, the pointer will move with you.

Tap anywhere on the keyboard with a second finger while you are in text selection mode. Swipe your fingers, and as you move, you'll select the text.

Shrink the plate

If you're using a larger iPhone, typing with one hand can be cumbersome. But here's a hidden one-handed mode of the iPhone keyboard: Press and hold the Globe icon, then use one of the three keyboard layout options. By default, it's center-mounted, but you can pin it to the left or right edge of the screen, making it easier to use with one hand

Swipe up

When you type, you often need to add special letters or numbers. You can switch to the number keypad, but there's a much faster way to go: swipe up on the "123" button and it'll instantly switch to the number keypad. Now, move your finger to the number or letter you want to enter, and lift your finger. You just entered a number, and you're back on the alphabet keypad.

Similarly, you can press and hold the keys to discover hidden symbols.

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