IOS 12.2 unknown words can be dragged around, but why

autocorrectiosmessagesspellcheck

By accident I've discovered the following:

  1. I open the messages app and write some text in the message area
  2. I write a word that the phone doesn't have in its dictionary and it gets a red dotted underline
  3. I tap on it and it gains a pink highlight and the black menu appears suggesting alternative words

At this point I can hold my finger on the red highlight and then drag the word around the screen. It appears in a white background rounded rectangle with a superimposed green plus, while the misspelled word in the message box is a grey color. The keyboard disappears.

I haven't been able to figure out what else to do with it- dropping it on various parts of the screen doesn't seem to do anything. I did wonder if it added it to the dictionary but it seems like such a bizarre UI for doing this, and the next time I write the word it still suggested as a misspelling..

What is this functionality for?

Best Answer

When you click on the word like that it is selected. You can drag the word around at that point. If you select some text and drag it around you'll find that it does the same thing. You'll have to select some bigger text so you can click the middle of it and not change the selection.