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I still can't select multiline text in a reliable manner after all these years. Those little handles jump around and you end up stuck selecting the weirdest sub

I still can't select multiline text in a reliable manner after all these years. Those little handles jump around and you end up stuck selecting the weirdest substring. Moving app icons from one page to another is more of an art (I don't have fat fingers either). I will say that after all these years, the most amazing thing is how much the iPhone interface got right on launch. Those first years were magical, like suddenly being thrust into the future. I just hope Apple finds Jobs 2.0 Dalai Lama style before they do irreparable damage.

ac4tw 8y ago
Have you tried using force touch to select text--I have big fingers and it's my fav. iPhone feature. You just put the cursor on a word and press hard--the word gets selected. Then press even harder and the surrounding words get selected--you can also press hard and drag one side of the selection cursor to select left or right of the datum. (You need a 6s or greater phone though--5se won't do it).
- jeffwass 8y ago
  Damn, wish I figured that out sooner, very helpful, thanks! Btw, there are always little gems to discover like this, Which I find out out after years of frustration. Is there a good source of “here are new iOS tricks you didn’t know about?”
  - tapland 8y ago
    35 hours of youtube 'features you didn't know existed'-guides. I don't know how we're expected to stay up to date without regular user friendly manual updates that get pushed.
    - wwright 8y ago
      Reading reviews of the OS updates?
  - gattilorenz 8y ago
    In the good old days pre-iOS 4 Apple wouldn't implement the "swipe down from the top of the screen" to access settings because there was no easy way to discover that the action was possible... [1] I do think that part of the early choices were quite rational, but the spirit of "ease of use trumps everything" got somewhat watered down over the years... [1] and I used Cydia hacks to get that feature (well, almost, you had to swipe horizontally). There's often a contrast between ease of use and assisting power users.
- kkarakk 8y ago
  new iphones won't do them either. force touch is gone on all 2018 iphones
  - aneidon 8y ago
    That’s not true. Only the iPhone XR is missing force touch (3D touch) Edit: and even there, I believe you can long-press to get the same effect.
    - saagarjha 8y ago
      > I believe you can long-press to get the same effect. Only in certain situations.
    - kkarakk 8y ago
      my mistake i guess i only watched an xr review
- molf 8y ago
  This only works for editable text, though, right? Selecting text from websites or other static text is as clumsy as ever.
  - 8_hours_ago 8y ago
    Nope, it also works for static text
  - chrispeel 8y ago
    Despite 8_hours_ago's comment, I also find selecting text from websites to not be so easy on iOS
- yig 8y ago
  As of iOS 12, you can do the same thing by long-pressing the space bar. This works on phones without 3D Touch.
edwinyzh 8y ago
That's my first complain after I switched to iPhone (for the first time) from Xiaomi and I never expected since Apple/iOS is known for good UX/UI.
Retric 8y ago
That multiline select seems to work fine on an iPad, but I have issues with iPhones. So, I wonder if it’s a text size issue? Playing around you notice having your finger between lines results in selecting a full line where having it on a word ends there.
basch 8y ago
I have a feeling this has to do with different finger types. We all expect a different part of our finger to be the "tip" that registers as the cursor/pointer. Maybe the os could calibrate over time based on where you hit buttons.
devxpy 8y ago
Weirdly, android has nailed text selection + navigation in 9.0

ac4tw 8y ago

Have you tried using force touch to select text--I have big fingers and it's my fav. iPhone feature. You just put the cursor on a word and press hard--the word gets selected. Then press even harder and the surrounding words get selected--you can also press hard and drag one side of the selection cursor to select left or right of the datum. (You need a 6s or greater phone though--5se won't do it).

jeffwass 8y ago
Damn, wish I figured that out sooner, very helpful, thanks! Btw, there are always little gems to discover like this, Which I find out out after years of frustration. Is there a good source of “here are new iOS tricks you didn’t know about?”
- tapland 8y ago
  35 hours of youtube 'features you didn't know existed'-guides. I don't know how we're expected to stay up to date without regular user friendly manual updates that get pushed.
  - wwright 8y ago
    Reading reviews of the OS updates?
- gattilorenz 8y ago
  In the good old days pre-iOS 4 Apple wouldn't implement the "swipe down from the top of the screen" to access settings because there was no easy way to discover that the action was possible... [1] I do think that part of the early choices were quite rational, but the spirit of "ease of use trumps everything" got somewhat watered down over the years... [1] and I used Cydia hacks to get that feature (well, almost, you had to swipe horizontally). There's often a contrast between ease of use and assisting power users.
kkarakk 8y ago
new iphones won't do them either. force touch is gone on all 2018 iphones
- aneidon 8y ago
  That’s not true. Only the iPhone XR is missing force touch (3D touch) Edit: and even there, I believe you can long-press to get the same effect.
  - saagarjha 8y ago
    > I believe you can long-press to get the same effect. Only in certain situations.
  - kkarakk 8y ago
    my mistake i guess i only watched an xr review
molf 8y ago
This only works for editable text, though, right? Selecting text from websites or other static text is as clumsy as ever.
- 8_hours_ago 8y ago
  Nope, it also works for static text
- chrispeel 8y ago
  Despite 8_hours_ago's comment, I also find selecting text from websites to not be so easy on iOS
yig 8y ago
As of iOS 12, you can do the same thing by long-pressing the space bar. This works on phones without 3D Touch.

edwinyzh 8y ago

That's my first complain after I switched to iPhone (for the first time) from Xiaomi and I never expected since Apple/iOS is known for good UX/UI.

Retric 8y ago

That multiline select seems to work fine on an iPad, but I have issues with iPhones. So, I wonder if it’s a text size issue? Playing around you notice having your finger between lines results in selecting a full line where having it on a word ends there.

basch 8y ago

I have a feeling this has to do with different finger types. We all expect a different part of our finger to be the "tip" that registers as the cursor/pointer. Maybe the os could calibrate over time based on where you hit buttons.

devxpy 8y ago

Weirdly, android has nailed text selection + navigation in 9.0