howtosimply.com/guides/how-to-use-the-iphone-space-bar-as-a-trackpad-to-move-the-cursor/ · Checked October 2026 · iPhone 14 Pro · iOS 27.0.1

In this guide

Open the keyboard
Touch and hold the space bar
Slide to move the cursor
Lift your finger
Good to know
Video demo
Sources

Quick answer

While typing, touch and hold the space bar until the letters on the keyboard disappear. The keyboard is now a trackpad: keep your finger down and slide it to move the cursor through the text, then lift your finger where you want to type.

4 of 4 steps with real screenshots · 1 official source below

Device: iPhone
Shown on: iOS 27.0.1 (iPhone 14 Pro)
Real screenshots: 4 of 4 steps
Checked: October 2026
Sources: 1 official, linked below

Step by step

Open the keyboard
Tap into any text so the keyboard appears, here in a new Pages document.
Watch these steps Done
Touch and hold the space bar
Keep your finger on the space bar. After a moment the letters on the keys fade.
Done
Slide to move the cursor
The keys are now blank: the keyboard is a trackpad. Without lifting your finger, slide in any direction and the cursor follows, line by line.
Done
Lift your finger
The cursor stays where it is and the letters come back, so you can type straight away.
Done

Watch these steps

The video loads from YouTube when you press play.

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About this guide

Tapping exactly between two letters is hard on a small screen. The space bar trick turns the whole keyboard into a trackpad, so you can put the cursor precisely where you need it. We recorded it in a blank Pages document; it works wherever the iPhone keyboard is open.

The screenshots are our own, taken on an iPhone 14 Pro running iOS 27.0.1. They were recorded over USB in QuickTime.