IOS 11: How to replace the emoji keyboard button with a punctuation menu without third-party tools

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I have no idea how anyone types quickly on the default iOS 11 keyboard considering you have to bring up a full different keyboard to type punctuation. My previous phone was a Google Nexus 4 and the default keyboard there had a punctuation button which you can hold down for a dropdown menu to select common punctuation marks.

I can't figure out why the devs thought it was a good idea to prioritize emojis over punctuation. How do I fix this without downloading a third-party keyboard or tool?

Best Answer

  • Slide your finger from the punctuation button in the bottom left of the keyboard, to the punctuation mark you want, then release. This automatically switches the keyboard back after typing the punctuation you chose.
  • Hold the punctuation button whilst tapping a punctuation key with another finger. Releasing your finger from the punctuation button returns the keyboard to the standard keyboard.

Both of these techniques are much faster than separately tapping the punctuation button, entering punctuation, then tapping again to return to the standard keyboard.

It's not possible to modify the standard iOS keyboard more than the settings available in Settings → General → Keyboard, which does not offer any way to change the language input menu. If necessary, you can replace the iOS keyboard with any third-party keyboard from the App Store.

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