Typing on a standard iPad screen can be physically awkward. The device is often too large to hold comfortably with one hand while typing with the other, and stretching your thumbs across the massive digital keyboard while gripping both sides of the tablet can quickly lead to hand fatigue. To solve this ergonomic issue, Apple includes a hidden feature that allows you to literally split the virtual keyboard in half, pushing the keys to the extreme left and right edges of the screen so you can comfortably type with just your thumbs while holding the device naturally.
How to Split the Keyboard
You can trigger the split keyboard gesture at any time while you are actively typing an email, a note, or a web address.
- Open any app that allows you to type (like Notes or Safari) and tap on a text field so the virtual keyboard appears on the bottom of the screen.
- Place your left thumb on the left side of the keyboard (around the ‘S’ or ‘D’ keys) and your right thumb on the right side of the keyboard (around the ‘K’ or ‘L’ keys).
- Simultaneously pull your thumbs apart toward the edges of the screen.
- The keyboard will instantly break into two separate halves, docking on the left and right sides of the display.
An Alternative Way to Split the Keyboard
If you find the physical pull-apart gesture difficult to execute consistently, you can use a hidden menu built directly into the keyboard itself.
- Look at the bottom right corner of the iPad keyboard. You will see an icon that looks like a small keyboard with a downward-facing arrow (this is normally used to dismiss the keyboard).
- Press and hold your finger on this dismiss keyboard icon.
- A small popup menu will appear. Keep your finger on the glass and slide it up to select Split, then release.
How to Rejoin the Keyboard
When you place your iPad flat on a desk and want to return to standard touch-typing with all your fingers, you need to merge the two halves back together.
To do this, simply reverse the initial gesture: place one finger on the left half of the keyboard, one finger on the right half, and push them together toward the center of the screen. Alternatively, you can press and hold the dismiss keyboard icon again and select Merge from the popup menu.
Note: If you do not see the option to split the keyboard, the feature may be disabled in your system settings. Go to Settings > General > Keyboard, and ensure the “Split Keyboard” toggle is turned on (green). This feature is also intentionally disabled by Apple on the largest 12.9-inch iPad Pro models, as the screen is deemed too wide for comfortable thumb typing even when split.