iOS 16 quietly added native Dvorak keyboard assist, delighting weirdos like me

Here’s a enjoyable iOS 16 function that’s virtually fully slipped below our radar: native assist for the Dvorak keyboard format. Ars Technica reported this week that the touch-typing optimized keyboard can now be chosen in Apple’s software program alongside the extra conventional QWERTY, AZERTY, and QWERTZ layouts. Previously, Dvorak on iOS has solely been obtainable through an external physical keyboard, or third-party software.

Although I’ve gone on the file as being a proud Dvorak person for over a decade, with regards to touchscreen keyboards I’ve at all times been pleased with QWERTY. The principal advantage of Dvorak is the best way it shares the workload equally between your entire fingers when touch-typing. It locations all of the vowels on the left facet of the keyboard’s dwelling row, and all probably the most commonly-used consonants are on the suitable, making them faster and simpler to succeed in.

But on a smartphone keyboard you’re not utilizing all of your fingers, you’re solely typing together with your thumbs. And, if something, I believe that makes it useful that QWERTY weirdly areas out all probably the most generally used letters. Less probability for thumb conflict, you recognize?

As you’ll be able to see from the screenshot on the high of this story, the Dvorak format seems a bit odd on iOS due to the lacking keys on the highest left of the keyboard. That’s as a result of these usually deal with punctuation (the apostrophe, comma, and interval, to be exact) which the iPhone keyboard hides away in a sub-menu. After making an attempt to make use of it for 5 minutes I believe I’m going to stay to QWERTY, however be at liberty to present it a go in the event you’ve bought extra endurance.

Still, it’s good to see the iPhone getting a bit Dvorak love, and it appears Steve Wozniak agrees. Ars notes that the Apple co-founder has used the format for round thirty years, after studying Dvorak from everyone’s favorite fake typing teacher on a flight to Tokyo within the early 90s. “I spent 5 hours learning it and never again looked at a QWERTY keyboard,” he instructed Ars. “That’s all it took.”

To give Dvorak a go on iOS 16, open your iPhone’s Settings, then go to General, Keyboard, and at last “Keyboards.” Select your language, and you need to see Dvorak listed as one of many obtainable format choices.