Placing cursor in middle of word for text message correction on iPhone

First time iPhone user here. In Android, I can correct a spelling error in an outgoing text message by simply putting the cursor to the right of the erroneous letter in the word, then backspace as necessary to remove erroneous letters, then type correct letters (all just like on the desktop or laptop). But iPhone won't let me put cursor in middle of a word. It insists upon placing the cursor after a word and then backspace deletes the entire word.

Is there a way to get iPhone to just let me edit what I want to edit and nothing more, like the desktop or Android phones do?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]