You might have seen many people on Instagram and Twitter (Now X) using special characters and symbols in their bios or Tweets. Have you ever wondered how to type such special alphabetical characters on your iPhone?
The iPhone keyboard contains a wide array of special characters and symbols that you can use in text messages, emails, social posts, and more.
While many common symbols are visible on the keyboard, hundreds of additional special characters can be typed with just a few taps.
How to Access Hidden Special Characters in iPhone Keyboard?
The iPhone allows you to access special alternate characters by long-pressing on certain keys. Here’s how it works:
- Tap and hold on to a standard keyboard key or symbol.
- A pop-up will appear showing alternate special characters available for that key.
- While still holding, slide your finger to the alternate character you want.
- Release your finger to type that character.
For example, long pressing on the standard “A” key brings up accent versions like ä and Â. Long pressing on the percent % symbol brings up the per mille ‰ and per ten thousand ‱ symbols.
This works for many standard keyboard keys and symbols. Try it out on different keys to reveal the hidden alternate characters.
Also Read: How to Call Private on iPhone?
Special Characters on the Symbols Keyboard
In addition to alternate characters on the standard keyboard, special symbols, and alternate characters are available on the numbers and symbols keyboard.
To access this keyboard, tap the “123” button to the left of the spacebar.
On this keyboard, long press on symbols like the hyphen -, asterisk *, equals =, and more to reveal additional special characters.
How to Set Up the Emoji Keyboard
Beyond standard special characters, you can access emojis, symbols, and more using the Emoji keyboard. To set this up:
- Go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards.
- Tap “Add New Keyboard”.
- Select “Emoji” from the list.
Now, when typing, tap the globe button to switch to the emoji keyboard. You’ll have quick access to hundreds of emojis as well as additional special characters.
Here’s How to Use the Text Replacement Shortcuts
If you frequently need to type a particular special character, you can also set up a text replacement shortcut.
Go to Settings => General => Keyboard => Text Replacement. Tap the + to add a new replacement.
You can save time by having a short series of characters (e.g., “(tm)”) automatically expand into a symbol (like the TM trademark symbol).
Final Words
Learning to access and type special characters on an iPhone takes some practice but can be very useful. You can use the hidden alternate keys, emoji keyboard, and text shortcuts to efficiently enter symbols, emoji, and special characters exactly when you need them.
