iPhone 12 Max Pro 14.2 :: Touch Cursor

Hi hansonc,

I was having the exact same issue you are having ever since I upgraded to the new iPhone Pro Max 12. With my old iPhone, I could long-press on any part of the keyboard in order to be able to drop the cursor wherever I wanted with ease. However, I could not get it to work when I switched to the 12 Pro Max. However, I reviewed the “Tips” app on the phone and just figured out the solution.

Just long-press on the space bar to unlock the free cursor feature. You used to be able to long-press anywhere on the keyboard, but now it seems that (at least on the 12 Pro Max) you have to long-press specifically on the space bar for it to work.

I hope this helps and works for you!

I wish I searched for this forum a long time ago. This is one of my favorite added features has ever came out with, using your finger over text is downright nauseating.

Apple- if you see this, PLEASE bring back full keyboard touch cursor capability. My favorite feature was ripped away for almost no reason! If people need light 3D Touch turned on and this messes with their experience, they should turn up their 3D Touch.

I want my cursor back. Put it in a little

update!!!! Thanks!

Happy to help, @hansonc! I agree, it would be nice to have the ability to press anywhere rather than just the space bar. I’m wondering if it is to avoid confusion with people are long-pressing on characters to bring up alternate characters...I don’t know for sure, but I think the “press anywhere” was a 3D touch feature and since that’s been discontinued, they had to constrain it to a part of the keyboard that doesn’t offer alternate characters.

Hi hansonc,

We appreciate you giving us the chance to assist you with your iPhone 12 Pro Max. Rest assured that we’ll do our best to assist you.

Are you referring to the trackpad feature of the keyboard? If yes, are you dragging around the keyboard to move the insertion point?

You can use the article below as a reference.

Type with the onscreen keyboard on iPhone

Are you using a screen protector or a case? If yes, have you had the chance to check if the issue persists if you remove your screen protector or your case? 

Please keep us posted.

Take care!

The same here, but it seems to be when I try to send an attachment with a text in Messenger. The he long hold on the space bar doesn’t work in this instance, and I can’t go back to correct or make changes in my messenger text. Very frustrating.

That’s the point, this feature for one, doesn’t work as well, and two, doesn’t use 3D Touch haptics to move the cursor so it ends up being slower and more unresponsive and also keeps you having to put your finger over your own text, which makes you unable to see. Having your finger over the actual keyboard keeps things accurate and out of the way.

I was hoping I had just missed some setting after ‘upgrading’ to iPhone 12 Pro Max 😒. Why take a feature away?! It’s just less convenient to use the space bar instead of full keyboard for trackpad access.

@hansonc No, it will not come back because, as you've phrased it, you're asking for a device feature which no longer exists: 3D Touch. I don't believe developers embraced it (just spitballing but why as a developer would I implement a feature that only works in the minority of users, iPhone users, when no Android phone supports or will ever support the tech?) and so Apple killed the feature off. I'm adjusting to life on iPhone 12 after relying heavily on that feature on my iPhone X.

But what I want to know is if there is any way to highlight using the free cursor. Previously you could 3D press in over a word or passage to highlight it and I want to know if there's any easy way to highlight with the free cursor now that 3D Touch is gone. If not, that is a major step back in terms of usability.

Echo that! please bring back the full keyboard cursor. long-press the space bar is very least convenient (it's easily gone and you hv to go to space bar every single time) compared to old way of pressure holding anywhere on the keyboard.

@TomFooligans,

sorry, I don’t understand your point. Why is it impossible to bring the feature to the whole keyboard, if it does work on the spacebar. Or am I just not getting it, since I am not accostumed to 3D touch.

@apple

being able to navigate the cursor through the space bar is the minimum, it was WAY easier to do that through anywhere on the keyboard though.

Bump, this feature was awesome and I just changed phones and I don’t have it anymore, now it’s just the space bar… almost makes me wanna go back to my old phone, please update this apple, this is ridiculous

I was just researching if there’s some kind of setting to get back the “anywhere cursor move” function and to no avail. Why are they removing features? This seems a bit counter productive. I used that feature literally like 100 times a day and I’ve had this new phone for over a week and STILL trying to move the cursor from a letter and not the space bar. I can’t explain in words my rage lol.

Hi, Did you also find a possibility how to move the cursor while you’re typing on the phone number keypad? (For example: I copy paste a phone number to call someone but still have to edit the area code. Right now I can’t do that because I can’t move any cursor at all ok the keypad) Thanks for any help here!!

I have an iPhone 12 pro purchased about a month and a half ago, running the latest IOS, whatever that is, and at least when composing text messages, and I think email also, and elsewhere, the cursor does appear where I place my finger in the text, except occasionally it will's get stuck and not move to where my finger is, unless I tap on the screen at the new location to get it going. Touching the space bar, or below it, also works but you have to hold your finger there all the time, although is a little easier to see where the cursor is because it's a very long line, up away from your finger. I see that they cursor does become an elongated when your finger is on the text, but it could be a little longer as sometimes if you move your finger down a little to see the line of texture working on it follows your finger rather than remaining on initial line, or maybe that's because I lifted my finger briefly. I wish they would bring back the keyboard with the left and right curse arrows which makes it easier to manipulate the cursor within a word. Sometimes the cursor seems to have momentum where it will keep going a little after you lift your finger if there's any motion before that, which is annoying. I don't know the glass screen protector has an effect one way the other on the behavior of the cursor in response to touch or not.