There's a secret one-handed keyboard hidden in iOS

You might think you've seen everything there is to see in iOS, but we've got a surprise for you: there's a one-handed keyboard hidden inside the code that you can't use, at least for the time being.

The keyboard was discovered by developer Steve Troughton-Smith through the iOS Simulator program - apparently it's been there since all the way back in iOS 8, just waiting for someone to spot it.

It's activated with a swipe in from the edge of the screen and it works from either side, so it's equally useful whether you're left or right-handed.

Bigger phones, smaller keyboards

It's not really surprising that Apple would be working on something like this, as its phones are getting bigger and the Google Keyboard has a one-handed mode of its own. The puzzle is why it hasn't officially appeared yet.

Once activated, the keys on the keyboard scrunch together to make them easier to access with a finger reach, and quick shortcuts to copy and paste commands appear at the side in the space created.

You can actually get at the one-handed keyboard feature now if you want, but it involves jailbreaking your iPhone, which you may or may not want to do. If you're so inclined, then there are instructions here.

Via MacRumors

David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.