…but real, lovely iPhone users all over the world prop our phones up on broken, hand-me-down MagSafe docks, ratchet them into terrible homemade tripod/car windshield mount hybrid monstrosities, or simply rest them on the back of our hands so that we may type to them on physical keycaps.
Some of us having been doing so regularly since support for Bluetooth keyboard inputs were first added, (actually at least one of us has actually been using an external hardware keyboard with mobile computers since the 1990s… Oh yes. Now you’re intrigued, right?,) though nobody can tell you exactly when this was done, or what iPhone OS version first included it.
…yes, from the very beginning, the simple abstract truth that Apple’s iPhone supports Bluetooth keyboard inputs has only been acknowledged a handful of times in user-facingdocumentation, specifically, from Apple.
In fact, here is the vast majority of what the current version of Apple’s iPhone User Guide has to say about it (I'm doing my best to maintain an archive of the entirety here.:
You can use Magic Keyboard, including Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad, to enter text on iPhone. Magic Keyboard connects to iPhone using Bluetooth.
Pair Magic Keyboard
Note: If Magic Keyboard is already paired with another device, you must unpair them before you can connect Magic Keyboard to your iPhone. For iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, see ~~Unpair a Bluetooth device~~. On Mac, choose Apple menu > System Preferences > Bluetooth, select the device, then Control-click its name.
Reconnect Magic Keyboard to iPhone
Magic Keyboard disconnects when you turn its switch to Off or when you move it or iPhone out of Bluetooth range—about 33 feet (10 meters).
To reconnect, turn the keyboard switch to On, or bring the keyboard and iPhone back into range, then tap any key.
If your Magic Keyboard doesn’t include accents and other diacritical marks for the language you’re typing, you can use an Option key modifier or the onscreen keyboard to enter those marks.
Use the Option key to enter a diacritical mark for a character
To enter a character with a diacritical mark, you can press the Option key on Magic Keyboard to select a mark.
For example, add the Spanish (Mexico) keyboard, then in an app, press and hold the Control key on Magic Keyboard, then press the Space bar until you select Español (México). - Go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Hardware Keyboard, then choose an alternative keyboard layout that supports diacritical marks.
For example, if you have the English (US) language keyboard, tap English (US), then choose U.S. International — PC or ABC — Extended.
For example, the Spanish (Mexico) keyboard and the U.S. International — PC alternative layout support these diacritical marks:
For example, to enter ñ using the Spanish (Mexico) keyboard or the U.S. International — PC alternative layout, press Option-N, then type an n.
Note: The ABC - Extended alternative layout also allows you to enter tone marks for typing Mandarin Chinese in Pinyin orthography. For example, to type ǚ in lǚxíng (“travel”), press Option-V, then type a v. In addition, the ABC - Extended layout allows you to type diacritical marks and letters from several different European languages, such as Czech, French, German, Hungarian, and Polish.
Use the onscreen keyboard to enter a diacritical mark
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With Magic Keyboard, you can switch between the language keyboard for your region, an emoji keyboard, other language keyboards that you add, and the onscreen keyboard.
Switch between language keyboards and the onscreen emoji keyboard
Show or hide the onscreen keyboard
To show the onscreen keyboard, press the Eject key on Magic Keyboard. To hide the onscreen keyboard, press the Eject key again.
You can dictate text instead of typing it on Magic Keyboard.
Note: Dictation may not be available in all languages or in all countries or regions, and features may vary. Cellular data charges may apply.
While dictating text, you can also add punctuation or formatting by speaking it.
You can perform searches and use text replacements from anywhere on iPhone without taking your hands away from Magic Keyboard.
