This genius iPhone trick will save you time texting

April 21, 2022

By Kim Komando

It is hard to imagine that the world record for typing the alphabet on a mobile phone is only 3.5 seconds. Taking that one step further, a Brazilian teen set a new Guinness World Record for fastest texter in 2014 when he typed a 25-word message in under 19 seconds.

You might not have aspirations to beat his record, but you probably wish you could type a bit faster on your iPhone. You can cut, copy, or paste text in a message like a professional through some clever finger movements. Tap or click for five smart keyboard shortcuts everyone should know.

Read on for a viral video that has iPhone users in awe about the phone’s seemingly magic shortcut.

Here’s the backstory

Popular TikTok creator Katarina Mogus is known for showing off various iPhone hacks on her profile, with over 2 million followers. While she usually goes through clever camera settings or Siri options, she recently explained how to copy and paste text faster.

Most iPhone users know that you can select a word by double-tapping with one finger or select a paragraph by triple-tapping with one finger. But did you know that you don’t have to tap on the cut option? Watch this clip to see how the hack works:

https://www.tiktok.com/@katamogz/video/7087711630905101574

What you can do about it

In the video, which has over 12,000 views, Mogus explains that you don’t need to tap on copy or paste. Instead, you can pinch closed with three fingers to copy and pinch open with three fingers to paste after selecting a word or paragraph.

Here are the official instructions from Apple:

You can also touch and hold a selection, then tap Cut, Copy, or Paste.

Some users find it challenging to move the on-screen indicator to an exact spot in a word, paragraph or URL. While it’s not explained in the video, you can tap and hold down on the spacebar to move the indicator to where you want it.

Also, if you have Universal Clipboard, you can cut something on one Apple device and paste it to another.

Keep reading

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Hackers built a tool to let you text Russian citizens about the war

https://www.komando.com/tips/apple/genius-iphone-trick/