The keyboard of the iPad is a lot bigger than the one on the iPhone. With iOS 11, Apple is finally making smart use of this extra space, with a brand new QuickType keyboard.
The iOS 11 QuickType keyboard
In addition to major iOS 11 innovations such as the improved Control Center and the screenshot function, the keyboard on the iPad also looks different. Please note that this improvement is only visible on the iPad (and therefore not on the iPhone). The new QuickType keyboard is installed by default as soon as your iPad is running iOS 11 or higher.
It works very simply. Apple believes your productivity can be improved by having you press fewer keys. Instead of pressing a button to open the punctuation keys, you can also use it by swiping your finger down on a button. For example, you can quickly put an ‘@’ away by dragging over the letter A and place the number 6 by pulling the Y-button down.
To avoid having to memorize all these underlying keys, they are shown smaller and gray at the top of each key. This makes your keyboard look a bit busier, but after a few days you are already used to it. The same goes for actually using the QuickType keyboard. In the beginning it feels a bit awkward not to tap on your screen but to drag, but this too quickly becomes second nature.
Download the iOS 11 beta now
iOS 11 will be released this fall for the iPhone and iPad. This year it is mainly the iPad that is making huge leaps forward. The tablet gets a Mac-like Dock, with which you can quickly switch between different apps. In addition, support for Drag and Drop and this new QuickType keyboard should ensure more productivity. If you want to get started with iOS 11, check out our tip on how to install the iOS 11 beta.