Here are 3 little-known iPhone shortcuts to up your game when typing and texting

Texting, emailing, and sharing content on social media are all common activities on smartphones, which have become vital tools in both our professional and personal lives. Apple iPhone users, in particular, have access to a variety of hidden keyboard shortcuts that can significantly enhance typing and texting abilities. These often-overlooked features, typically only brought to light through social media influencers, can greatly improve efficiency and convenience.

One such feature is Apple's Quickpath, which allows users to input text by sliding their finger across the digital keyboard instead of the traditional tap-and-release method. To activate this feature, navigate to Settings, then General, followed by Keyboard, and toggle on Slide to Type. Once enabled, simply tap the first letter of a word and slide your finger to the subsequent letters.

For instance, to compose the word "yellow," tap the letter Y and slide your finger across the screen to E, and so forth. Be cautious not to hold your finger down on the initial letter for too long or release it prematurely, as this could erase the entire word. Additionally, deleting a letter typed this way will also erase the entire word.

Another useful shortcut is transforming the keyboard into a trackpad. If you wish to modify a word or section of your text, hold your thumb down on the space bar until the letters vanish or place your thumb within the text bubble. With the cursor now movable, slide your finger across the screen to adjust its position, much like operating a trackpad.

Lastly, copying and pasting text on an iPhone requires a few steps. To select typed text, you can either double-tap a word to highlight it or triple-tap a paragraph. For more precise selection, utilize the trackpad method: while holding your thumb down on the space bar, tap anywhere on the keyboard to select the desired text. This feature can be applied to various apps, such as Notes, emails, chat apps like iMessage or WhatsApp, and general text windows.

To copy and paste the highlighted text, you can use the pop-up options that appear on the screen or employ gestures. Pinch three fingers together to close the highlighted selection, copying the text, or spread three fingers apart to open the selection, pasting it elsewhere. This method is also applicable to photos. However, these shortcuts may not function optimally on smaller devices like iPhones and might work better on larger screens such as iPads.