iOS 9 tips: How to re-enable the all-caps virtual keyboard display

Posted:
in iPhone edited October 2015
Along with a change to the new San Francisco font, iOS 9 now displays lowercase letters on the virtual keyboard by default when typing non-capitalized letters. This is a change that has been met with some criticism by users, but thankfully Apple has included a way to switch back to the all-caps keyboard.




Users can access the keyboard option by opening the iOS Settings app, choosing General, and then selecting Accessibility. Then scroll down to Keyboard, right underneath the new 3D Touch sensitivity options.

Once you've selected Keyboard, you'll see the first option underneath "Software Keyboards" is a switch for Show Lowercase Keys. While this is turned on by default in iOS 9, it's just that easy to turn it off.

In addition to the aforementioned 3D Touch options for iPhone 6s, a number of other settings that may be of interest to general users are also found within the Accessibility menu. They include the ability to turn off Reachability for iPhone models sized 4.7 and 5.5 inches, and the option to disable the "Shake to Undo" shortcut.

Disabling lowercase letters on the iOS 9 keyboard, of course, will not change the fact that the new system-wide font is Apple's custom San Francisco, making its way from the new Apple Watch. San Francisco also debuted this week on Apple's OS X 10.11 El Capitan update for Macs.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18
    gqbgqb Posts: 1,934member

    Fodder for the 'be careful what you wish for' file?

    Frankly, I like the lower case, but understand why some want the old typewriter style, always caps view. A bit more stable and unchanging, which I suppose can be disconcerting.

     

    Glad its an option to have either.

  • Reply 2 of 18
    icoco3icoco3 Posts: 1,474member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by GQB View Post



    ...

    Glad its an option to have either.


     

    Nice they offer an option to restore the way it was before.  The lower case is one of my favorite "little touches" to iOS9 so not sure what they are complaining about.

     

    "Stop complaining and just switch it back..."

  • Reply 3 of 18
    I thought I wouldn't like it (lower case) because I hate it on all other phones(Samsung, HTC, Ect) . But the lower case is clean and big enough to enjoy. It seems as if its a subtle change from the upper case.

    What I learned is that I really dislike keyboards with multiple letters/symbols or numbers on the same key.

    Loathe I believe is the word.
  • Reply 4 of 18
    I left mine on Lower Case letters but switched to BOLD as a way to make them easier to read...just my 2 cents.....
  • Reply 5 of 18
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,284member

    I realized that I didn't like the lower case at all. In reality, no physical keyboard I've owned ever had lower case and we managed to tell the difference while typing. I find it strange that it's under accessibility rather than the keyboard menu. Thanks to the forum members who pointed that out to me when I asked.

  • Reply 6 of 18
    haggarhaggar Posts: 1,568member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mike1 View Post

     

     I find it strange that it's under accessibility rather than the keyboard menu.


     

    Apple likes to dump a lot of things into Accessibility even when it would make more sense to put them in the relevant settings (Display, Keyboard, etc).  You should see the Accessibility preferences in OS X.  My guess is they think putting the options in the relevant places would exceed their quota for the maximum number of options in a preference pane, so they dump them into Accessibility which people assume is reserved for settings related to disabilities.  Accessibility is also a place where Apple likes to hide settings that they don't really want people to change.  For example, when iOS 7 introduced the parallax effect on the home screen and people complained, where did Apple put the option to turn it off?  And how about when OS X Yosemite was introduced with blurry translucency everywhere and people complained?

     

    You should also see how many commands in OS X require holding the Option key to make the commands visible in a menu or to make the button appear in a dialog box.  People were/are criticizing a 2 button mouse for being confusing and leading users to try and right-click everywhere to find hidden commands. Meanwhile, Apple is doing the same thing with the Option key.

  • Reply 7 of 18
    idaveidave Posts: 1,283member

    Could never figure out why Apple didn't do this years ago. Android had it. When you're about to type a lower case letter it should be displayed as a lower case letter on the keyboard. Showing caps all the time seems so 20th century. It's a (mini) computer, after all, not a typewriter. Why anyone wouldn't like it is beyond me.

  • Reply 8 of 18
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    I actually like the Hanx Writer app from Tom Hanks that simulates a typewriter. It really "feels" like a typewriter.
  • Reply 9 of 18
    wigginwiggin Posts: 2,265member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mike1 View Post

     

    I realized that I didn't like the lower case at all. In reality, no physical keyboard I've owned ever had lower case and we managed to tell the difference while typing. I find it strange that it's under accessibility rather than the keyboard menu. Thanks to the forum members who pointed that out to me when I asked.


     

    But then again, I'm betting that on no physical keyboard you've owned was it difficult to know if you were holding down the shift key. Or know if shift-lock was on.

     

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by iDave View Post

     

    Could never figure out why Apple didn't do this years ago. Android had it. When you're about to type a lower case letter it should be displayed as a lower case letter on the keyboard. Showing caps all the time seems so 20th century. It's a (mini) computer, after all, not a typewriter. Why anyone wouldn't like it is beyond me.


     

    Yes, they should have changed it years ago. More precisely, when iOS 7 was released. That's when they changed the visible behavior of the shift key to indicate whether or not the next character(s) you typed were going to be upper or lower case, making it counter-intuitive. I'd prefer the letters be uppercase all the time, but if they insist on keeping the mis-functioning shift key, lowercase letters is the next best thing.

  • Reply 10 of 18
    nousernouser Posts: 65member

    My first Apple II plus only had upper case letters too.  I can't tell you how many times I accidentally hit the caps lock by accident and this change is welcome by me.  It's called progress, some like it some do not.

  • Reply 11 of 18
    tomkarltomkarl Posts: 239member
    Have to chime in that I was glad to see this tip to leave the keyboard in a constant state of displaying caps.

    I found it an annoying distraction to have the letters changing at the start of every sentence. I'm aware enough of what I'm doing to know if I've shifted or engaged caps lock.

    As everyone has stated it is a personal preference so I think having the option is great.
  • Reply 12 of 18
    chris_cachris_ca Posts: 2,543member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by StephanJobs View Post



    I thought I wouldn't like it because I hate it on all of their phones.

    You thought you would like what?

    Lowercase?

    It hasn’t been on any of their phones.

  • Reply 13 of 18
    chris_ca wrote: »
    You thought you would like what?
    Lowercase?
    It hasn’t been on any of their phones.
    That was a typo.

    I was using Siri.

    That was supposed to say I hate it on all "other phones". Meaning lowercase on Samsung, Htc, ect.
  • Reply 14 of 18
    pscooter63pscooter63 Posts: 1,080member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Wiggin View Post

     

    But then again, I'm betting that on no physical keyboard you've owned was it difficult to know if you were holding down the shift key. Or know if shift-lock was on.

     


     

    For myself, the status of the iOS shift key has always been more difficult to ascertain than on a physical keyboard (the latter being purely proprioceptive, or via a bight, dedicated LED).

     

    Lower case keytops are a godsend in my case.

  • Reply 15 of 18
    tenlytenly Posts: 710member
    I like the lowercase. It was always counter-intuitive to me to have the keys display as upper case all the time. WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) makes far more sense for a virtual keyboard although I'm glad that apple provided a choice for those people that are resistant to change or have a preference for something static. I wonder how many of the people who prefer the "all caps all the time" are also the ones whom desire a round Apple Watch...?
  • Reply 16 of 18
    freerangefreerange Posts: 1,597member
    With all due respect, anyone who thinks the lower case display is an annoyance is an .......

    Seriously, find something meaningful in your lives and quit complaint. It is a much appreciated change for the overwhelming majority of users.
  • Reply 17 of 18
    tomkarltomkarl Posts: 239member
    freerange wrote: »
    With all due respect, anyone who thinks the lower case display is an annoyance is an .......

    Seriously, find something meaningful in your lives and quit complaint. It is a much appreciated change for the overwhelming majority of users.

    No complaining, thank you, just stating my opinion.
  • Reply 18 of 18
    croprcropr Posts: 1,124member
    For me the lowercase keyboard is the best features of iOS9. Especially when typing case sensitive passwords, the all-caps keyboard lead to too many errors
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