> If I made a physical keyboard that stops keys from working when you're about to finish typing something I don't want you to type

For anyone wondering the degree to which this is an exaggeration: The iPhone will physically work against you by invisibly changing the size of keys on the keyboard.

Every iPhone, since the very first, dynamically resizes the hitboxes of the iOS keyboard. This is invisible, can not be disabled, and the hitboxes overlap those of other keys.

They used to advertise this as "dynamic tap zones" but they removed the video for it, but you can see their advertising for it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPmVKyhyl9U

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kenferry 20 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I worked at Apple, and my understanding is that this hasn't been true since very, very early versions of the keyboard. Specifically because it made it actually impossible to type certain words (I remember "flickr" could not be typed). Nowadays the hit targets are not modified at all, but there is a statistical model based on dictionaries and grammar that's going to include the possibility that you missed.

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BobaFloutist 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> Nowadays the hit targets are not modified at all, but there is a statistical model based on dictionaries and grammar that's going to include the possibility that you missed.

Is that functionally different?

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lynndotpy 11 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

This is still true, even today. One can reproduce the dynamic hit targets demo today, on the latest iOS 27.2.

I reproduced the example in the video in the Xcode simulator to verify it before I posted my comment. T, I, M, then with my cursor on the rightmost edge of W, registers as E instead.

Here is a video of reproduction in Xcode, just now: http://lynndotpy.xyz/its_iphone_timw.mov

One can also reproduce similar behavior, using an Apple Pencil on an iPad.

(I am almost certain one can also reproduce this with some certainty with a capacitive stylus, but I don't have one with a fine point on hand at the moment to verify.)

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madeofpalk 18 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Right. It seems like a very 2008 solution, whereas now in 2026 instead we have advanced ML algorithms to frustrate you instead.

	▲	kenferry 17 hours ago \| parent [-]
		You can turn off spell correction if you don't like it. If you do like it, it's going to change what you type occasionally by definition. I also feel like it could be better, but this thread seems a little over the top. Censorship because it avoids autocompleting things that might embarrass you?? And as was just posted a couple days ago, if you intentionally use words and phrases, it will learn that you do and will go ahead and suggest them https://helgesver.re/articles/macos-vulgar-word-flags .

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black_knight a day ago | parent | prev [-]

I run into this quite often. I tap some key, and I am certain I hit it, but it puts in the letter next to it.

	▲	degrees57 19 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I get this too. I have a friend named Dusty (reasonably rare), and when I try to type his name out, after typing "D" my iPhone often picks "i" even though I tapped "u". If I go ahead and finish it with "Disty" it _then_ gives me the option of choosing "Dusty". Apparently, names that begin with Di outnumber names that begin with Du four-to-one.