Apple has improved the design of its keyboard in iOS 8.3 to fix a long-standing issue that caused several iPhone users to accidentally tap the period key while attempting to use the space bar in Safari. The change to a longer space bar was first spotted in iOS 8.3 beta 2 within the MacRumors discussion forums, and also appears to be present in the third beta of the pre-release software.



iPhone 6 Plus users in particular have long complained about having Safari searches littered with periods because Apple did not extend the space bar to account for the extra space on the larger 5.5-inch screen, instead making the "Go" button larger. While not necessarily a bug, the design issue was an inconvenience for many users and prompted several complaints on social media and within our discussion forums. Twitter user Amanda Hearon, for example, voiced her frustration rather succinctly.

The whole . next to the space bar when you open safari on your iPhone has to be the most annoying thing ever. My searches look.like.this. — Amanda (@AmandaHearon) February 1, 2015

Apple launched its new iOS public beta testing program on Thursday, making the third beta of iOS 8.3 the first iPhone and iPad software version to be seeded to both developers and the public for testing. iOS 8.3 includes several new features, such as support for wireless CarPlay connectivity, a new emoji picker, support for Google two-step verification, and Apple Pay support for the China UnionPay network.