Your iPhone has a one-handed keyboard mode — enable it now and stop dropping your phone

Apple iPhone 15 Plus review.
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Knowing how to use the iOS one-handed keyboard is essential if you often juggle your iPhone while on the move, or if you experience compromised hand movement.

While Apple has released some recent phones that suit the smaller handed, the size of the displays on devices like the iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 15 Plus can make one-handed typing inconvenient. 

In this guide, we’ll show you how to activate the one-handed keyboard on your iPhone for a more stable and comfortable typing experience. This trick works for every app that uses the keyboard, so it isn't just for messaging. It'll work on Messages, WhatsApp, Notes, Safari — essentially anywhere else you type.

It's accessibility features like these that help make iPhones some of the best phones around. So, without further ado, let's find out how to use the iOS one-handed keyboard.

How to use iOS one-handed keyboard

Note: The steps below were performed on an iPhone running iOS 17.1.2. 

1. Open the keyboard > Long press the globe icon

(Image: © Future)

Bring up the keyboard and long-press the globe icon located at the bottom left corner. 

2. Select a left or right one-handed layout

(Image: © Future)

Once the keyboard menu appears, you’ll find three keyboard formats at the bottom of the menu. Choosing the keyboard format on the left will shift the one-handed keyboard to the left side of the screen — select this if you’re typing with your left hand

Selecting the format on the right will move the one-handed keyboard to the right side of your display — pick this if you’re typing with your right hand.

You'll see the keyboard keys become more compact and shift to one side or the other.

3. Return to the standard layout

(Image: © Future)

To go back to the regular layout, tap the arrow that appears toward the blank side of the one-handed keyboard


With these steps, you can easily activate the one-handed keyboard on your iPhone whenever you need single-handed typing. If you want to learn more about your iPhone, read these tutorials we’ve prepared on how to enable the camera grid on iPhone, how to use the night mode camera on iPhone, and how to turn on locked private browsing on your iPhone.

Next: 15 hidden iOS Messages features you need to be using

TOPICS
Nikshep Myle
Contributor

Nikshep Myle is a freelance writer covering tech, health, and wellbeing. He has written for popular tech blogs like TechRadar, GadgetReview, SlashGear, and Creative Bloq, and has extensively reviewed consumer gadgets. When he’s not writing, you’ll find him meditating, gaming, discovering new music, and indulging in adventurous and creative pursuits.

Read more
iPhone 16 Pro shown held in hand
How to screenshot on iPhone 16 — capture your screen easily
Apple iPhone 16 held in the hand.
You can record your iPhone screen — here's how
iPhone 16 Pro Max shown in hand
Your iPhone has a custom voice command feature — here's how to use it
Apple iPhone 15 held in the hand.
How to turn off your iPhone
Apple iPhone 16 Plus Review.
How to turn off your iPhone 16 — power down or restart your device this way
Apple iPhone 16 held in the hand.
Just got a new iPhone 16? Try these 10 features first
Latest in iPhones
Siri in iOS 18 on iPhone
Users complain that Siri can’t answer even the most basic questions — here’s what we know
iPhone 16 next to samsung galaxy watch 7 and bose wireless earbuds on a composite image
Apple's walled garden is crumbling — EU orders iOS to open up to third-party devices
Apple iPhone 16 & 16 Plus hands-on.
Forget USB-C — a truly portless iPhone just got the all-clear from the EU
iPhone Flip render
iPhone Flip could solve one of the biggest problems with foldable phones — here's how
iPhone 17 Air concept image
iPhone 17 Air just tipped for exclusive upgrade regular iPhone 17 won't get
iPhone 16 Pro Max
iPhone 18 may miss out on this performance upgrade — what we know
Latest in How To
a photo of a woman out for a walk
Forget running — doing this one thing boosted the calorie burn on my daily walks
ChatGPT on iPhone
I use ChatGPT every day — here's 7 prompts I can't live without
Woman changing bedding
How to get rid of bed bugs and dust mites from your bedding and pillows if a hot wash isn’t an option
Ring Battery Doorbell next to door
Put your Ring Doorbell on a schedule — how to control motion detection times
How to delete TikTok
TikTok has rolled out a vital new security feature — here's how to use it
a photo of a woman doing standing oblique crunches
Forget sit-ups and planks — this standing ab exercise targets your oblique muscles, as well as your balance