iOS 16 brings 86-year-old Dvorak keyboard layout to iPhone, but that's not a big deal – Knowligent
iOS 16 brings 86-year-old Dvorak keyboard layout to iPhone, but that's not a big deal

iOS 16 brings 86-year-old Dvorak keyboard layout to iPhone, but that's not a big deal

HomeHow to, TechiOS 16 brings 86-year-old Dvorak keyboard layout to iPhone, but that's not a big deal

The iPhone now has an option to use a Dvorak keyboard. Yes, Dvorak, the keyboard layout designed to speed up touch typing with two hands on a full-size physical keyboard.

What is a DVORAK keyboard layout?

On the iPhone, I would wager that almost all typing is done with the thumbs. If you’re running iOS 16 on your iPhone, go ahead and open your keyboard settings now. You’ll see an option for Dvorak at the bottom of the list, below QWERTY, AZERTY, and the truly frustrating (for non-German users) QWERTZ layouts. Choose Dvorak and enjoy your new… what, exactly?

"A keyboard layout that encourages you to switch hands more often also helps with a phone keyboard, because [you] type faster," iPhone user, IT pro, and Apple expert Zorinlynx said in a MacRumors forum thread participated in by Lifewire. "If you're typing a letter and the next letter is on your other hand, you'll naturally move your thumb to it before you're finished typing the first one. This speeds things up noticeably."

Dvorak, which would be called PYFGC if it followed the QWERTY convention of putting the first five keys on the top row of letters, is designed to be faster and easier for touch typists to use. The main design goal is to spread frequently used letter combinations across both hands.