IF you’re bored of the current lot of iPhone emoji, there’s a way to unlock an enormous trove of new icons.
All it takes is a few seconds and you’ll be able to use them whenever you want.
It works using the Japanese keyboard, which has a built-in selection of emoticons.
These are the early precursors to emoji that use letters and symbols to create faces, expressions, and patterns.
For example, you’ve got the famous shrug ¯(ツ)/¯, anger ಠ_ಠ, and happy cat (=^ェ^=).
They’re a fun alternative to emoji and they’re part of Apple’s iOS as standard. You just need to know where to look.
You can send them inside any app that accepts regular text.
And they have meanings that even regular emoji don’t, so it’s a great way to expand your iPhone texting arsenal.
HOW TO UNLOCK EMOTICON ON IPHONE
First, go to the default Settings app on your iPhone.
Then navigate to General > Keyboard > Keyboards > Add New Keyboard.
You’ll want to add the Japanese keyboards with Kana and Romaji variants.
That means you’re set up to use the emotions – now you just have to find them when you’re texting.
Go into any messaging app: WhatsApp or Apple’s Messages will work just fine.
Tap into the text bar as if you were going to start typing.
Now long-press on the globe icon that’s in the bottom-left corner of the keyboard.
Next, choose the Japanese keyboard.
If you’re using the Kana one, you’ll want to tap on the ^_^ key in the bottom left to open up the emoticon keyboard.
Then tap the downwards arrow in the top-right, which will bring up the full list of emoticon options.
If you’re using the Romaji keyboard instead, you’ll want to tap the 123 button first.
And then you can follow the same steps as with the Kana keyboard.
TRICKS TO TYPE FASTER
Here are some clever ways to type faster on iPhone, courtesy of The Sun’s tech expert Sean Keach…
First, stop tapping out individual letters.
Go to Settings then General then Keyboard and toggle on Slide to Type.
Then to type a word, just touch the initial letter and quickly drag your finger between all the letters of that word.
Bam. Instant word. It’s a huge upgrade and much faster.
Second, never type your email or home address out. It’s a huge waste of time.
Go into Settings then General then Keyboard and hit Text Replacement.
This lets you set up text shortcuts that change short phrases into long chunks of text.
Right, third. Let’s say you’ve written some text but you spot a typo in the middle of a word, or further down a website link in the Safari address bar.
Trying to tap a specific point can be difficult, so just use the secret trackpad instead.
Hold your finger down on the spacebar and voila, trackpad! Slide it around to place the cursor exactly where you need it to go. This is much more efficient.
Tap on any option and it’ll paste directly into your chat bar.
When you’re ready to switch back to your regular keyboard, simply long-press on the globe again and select the one you want.