Apple seeded the first iOS 10.3 beta to developers and there are several features worth noting. If you're interested, a public beta will be available shortly so do stay tuned for it. iOS 10.3 will be a major upgrade as it will bring numerous consumer oriented features to the table. However, what caught our attention is a feature centered towards the iPad. Buried deep within the iOS code, developer Steven Troughten-Smith discovered that iOS 10.3 will bring a floating one-handed keyboard. Let's dive in to see some more details on the subject.

iOS 10.3 Will Bring A Floating Keyboard On iPad

iPads have a gigantic screen real estate, even the iPad mini does not allow you to type one-handedly. While this may be a nuisance for many, Apple has found a solution for those people - the one-handed floating keyboards on the iPad. The feature will be most probably be available on iPad models below the screen size of 9.7-inch. If you're one of those with a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, sorry to say but the feature will not be available for you.

New in iOS 10.3, a one-handed floating iPad (9.7" or less) keyboard layout. Can be moved around onscreen like the PiP overlay

Troughton-Smith notes that the keyboard can be moved around where the user needs it, which should be a nice benefit if it ever sees the light of day for end users. Troughton-Smith also points out that it took some digging to find the new floating keyboard, and that it’s “not publicly accessible yet.”

While the idea is pretty neat and handy at times, it still remains to be seen how the final experience pans out. Nonetheless, we're glad that Apple is aware of issues related to the bigger screens of the iPad. We will hear more details on the one-handed keyboard on iPad, so do stay tuned for that.

iOS 10.3 on its own will bring quite a handful of visual as well as internal changes to the table. For instance, the operating system will automatically convert the file system on iOS devices to APFS which focuses on data integrity and encryption. There are a lot of other additions in the forthcoming update, so do stay tuned for that as well.

This is it for now, folks. What do you think about the addition of a one-handed keyboard on large screen iPads? Do you think the step taken was necessary? Share your thoughts with us i the comments section.

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