One of the biggest hurdles smartphones had to overcome was touchscreen text input. However, various clever software hacks such as smart predictive typing and swiping eventually made the BlackBerry-style physical keyboard obsolete.

However, touchscreen typing on the best 2-in-1 laptops and tablets has not replaced the full-size keyboard dedicated to long messages, leaving Windows 10 devices in an awkward spot. In the meantime, Microsoft is bringing one of the iPhone's touchscreen typing innovations to Windows 10.

As Tech Radar discovered, in the latest preview version of Windows 10 (build 20206), Microsoft is allowing touchscreen typers to fine-tune text editing by moving their fingers while pressing the virtual spacebar. Simply place your finger over the spacebar and slide your finger left, right, up, and down," Microsoft wrote in its release notes. As your finger moves, so does the cursor."

This is one of those things that is hard to visualize until you actually try it yourself or at least see it in action. Fortunately, Bleeping Computer, which first reported this news, has a video showing it in action on an iPhone for those unfamiliar with it.

First introduced in iOS 12, the feature has proven to be a popular way to make previously tricky text adjustments on both iPhone and iPad, and is likely to be welcomed here as well; it looks like this on the Windows 10 virtual keyboard:

While welcome, cursor movement with the space bar is not as important on Windows 10 devices with larger displays. However, there is no denying that it is useful for quick notes and small changes.

In the longer term, this keyboard change will be even more significant when Windows 10 X, Microsoft's software version tailored for foldable PCs and dual-screen laptops, arrives. Last I heard, Windows 10x could be delayed to 2021 for single-screen devices and 2022 for dual-screen devices like the upcoming Surface Neo.