This story is part of Focal Point iPhone 2022, CNET’s collection of news, tips, and advice on Apple’s most popular product.
You know that little vibration you feel under your finger when you delete an app from your home screen or turn on the flashlight on your lock screen? That’s haptic feedback and you can now use that feature on your keyboard to improve typing on iPhone.
Instead of those annoying clicking noises you’re probably used to, haptic feedback offers a quiet way to get a more immersive experience when using an iPhone. If you’re a fan of the feature, you’ll be pleased to hear that, with the release of iOS 16, the integration of haptic feedback has spread to a number of other aspects of your iPhone.
Thanks to iOS 16, you can now get haptic feedback when using your iPhone’s built-in keyboard. Whether you’re sending a text message or composing an email, every time you press a key, you’ll feel a slight but satisfying vibration, making the virtual keyboard feel a little more physical.
However, you need to manually enable the haptic feedback feature for your keyboard on iOS 16 for this to work. Here’s what you need to know.
If you haven’t updated to iOS 16 yet, check out how to download and install iOS 16 right now, seven hidden features we didn’t expect and all the new features you can look forward to like undo text messages and removing people, pets or objects from your photos.
How to enable haptic feedback on your iPhone keyboard
Before going through these steps, make sure your iPhone is updated to iOS 16. Check out a list of compatible iPhone models and how to go through the setup process.
To enable your keyboard’s haptic feedback:
1. Open the Settings app.
2. Go to Sounds & Haptics.
3. Tap Keyboard Feedback.
4. Turn on Haptic.
Turn this on and you’ll feel a slight vibration every time you tap a key.
Screenshots by Nelson Aguilar/CNET
Once haptic feedback is enabled, you’ll feel a slight pulse whenever you tap your keyboard, whether you’re entering a space, entering a character, or deleting something. Haptic feedback is performed whether your phone is in silent mode or not.
It’s worth noting that Apple added a note to its haptic feedback support page that reads, “Turning on keyboard haptics may affect your iPhone’s battery life.”
There’s no further explanation like how much battery the feature can actually consume, but it seems to be an important enough issue that Apple had to include a statement about it. If you’re concerned about battery life, you may want to keep the haptic feedback on the keyboard disabled, especially since turning it on for power-saving mode doesn’t disable it.