- Latest iOS 26.4 beta is available for download
- Apple says it features “improved keyboard precision when typing quickly”
- But it seems that not all keyboard errors have been fixed.
Typing on your iPhone keyboard can sometimes be an exercise in frustration: between misspelled words and overzealous autocorrect interventions, typing what you want is sometimes harder than it should be. That’s why an apparent bug in iOS 26 has caused so much consternation among Apple fans in recent weeks, but it looks like a fix is on the way in iOS 26.4.
These were the so-called “missing characters.” Many users found that iOS sometimes ignored characters that were tapped when users were typing very quickly. This would force people to pause and then try pressing the button again, which would slow them down. Or missing characters would cause autocorrect to misinterpret the word being typed, changing it to something the user didn’t intend.
Apple seems to have fixed this irritating issue in the latest iOS 26.4 beta. In the release notes accompanying the update, Apple said the new version features “improved keyboard precision when typing quickly.” But as I discovered, I may not have been able to fix all iOS 26 defects related to writing.
Article continues below.
An imperfect solution?
Hopefully, the iOS 26.4 update should fix the missing characters issue. If you’ve been experiencing that while texting friends and family, Apple may have finally fixed the problem.
However, I’ve been testing iOS 26.4 and noticed that an infuriating bug linked to the emoji button, where the emoji key is not recognized if you type quickly, seems to still be in place. This issue was highlighted on social media, where Reddit user Crazyserb89, for example, said that the issue “drives me crazy.”
In my experience, pressing the emoji button in the middle of a rapid flurry of letters activated the 123/ABC button located above it. Only when I stopped my typing did the emoji control work correctly.
While anecdotal, that suggests that the iOS 26.4 update hasn’t completely fixed the typing experience for Apple fans. Hopefully Apple can fix it in a future update.
If you want to download iOS 26.4, you’ll need to sign up for the iOS 26 public beta. Once you’re sorted, open the Settings app and go to General > Software Update, wait for the download to appear, and then tap Update now. Make sure you have backed up your iPhone before you start in case something goes wrong.
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