using my Iphone like a mac

If you want to learn keyboard controls for using VoiceOver on iOS, I would recommend you go to Settings, Accessibility, VoiceOver, Commands, Keyboard Shortcuts. From there you can study and edit the keyboard commands to your heart's content. 🙂

https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/use-voiceover-with-an-external-keyboard-iph6c494dc6/ios

Also, for an extensive discussion of using an iPhone in place of a computer, see:

https://www.applevis.com/guides/third-edition-personal-power-getting-most-ios-totally-blind-user

Some things won't work like they do on an iPad. For instance, I'm pretty sure you can switch between two apps with cmd-tab, if they're both on the screen. You can't do that on the iPhone because, honestly I'm not sure, it could just switch through whatever's open in the app switcher. I don't think it does though. My guess is that the phone screen isn't large enough to support multiple windows, so they didn't implement it.

Also, there's a setting in settings/accessibility/keyboards and typing. It's "full keyboard access". Supposedly you want to keep this off, because it can interfere with Voiceover. I think it's off by default, but in case you run into issues, it might be worth checking, or if you want to turn it on to see what it's supposed to do and you run into problems, you'll have an idea why.

The last time I tried using a phone with a keyboard, it worked fairly well. You'll probably want the phone out though, because you do run into issues. For example, focus used to get stuck in parts of web pages, and the only way I could find to get the keyboard moving through the page like it was supposed to would be to touch the screen to get Voiceover back into the actual page.

This is all under iOS 18 BTW, my phone is old, iPhone XR, and can't run 26. So I don't know what changes, if any, have happened past the latest version of 18. But Personal Power, if nothing else, will show you that somebody's doing what you want, so you know it's possible, depending on the kinds of things you want to do with your phone. Good luck!

I started in my apple journey with a mac. later, got an iPod Touch, and had no problem using it with a bluetooth keyboard. on an iPhone, most commands are the same. just as with the old iPod were. If you are a power user of macOS, you'll be fine on the iPad.

By default I think, the iPhone doesn't interact. So if you want grouping behavior like a Mac, you probably have to turn it on. I use Firefox as a browser, and apparently cmd-enter doesn't open a link in a new tab, like it does on Mac. That's just what I noticed today after finally pairing my new Bluetooth keyboard with the phone and playing with it for a bit.

Oh yeah, and I think this has changed in iOS 26, while you can toggle on single letter quicknav with VO-q, it doesn't do anything unless single arrow quicknav is also on. On the Mac, these can be separate, and I think they are in 26 as well. So on Mac I never use the arrows for quicknav, but I do use single letter, e.g. 'h' for headings on web pages, all the time. So I can just hit VO-q, and then 'h' or whatever on a web page. On iOS 18, the only way this works is if single arrow quicknav is also active.

None of these things are a huge problem or anything, just things to be aware of, in case you're familiar with the Mac. Every once in a while, you run into these things. Oh another one, cmd-q doesn't close apps. You do VO-h twice quickly, which brings up the app switcher. I just VO-arrow to close and then activate that option, then VO-h to go home. There might be an easier way to do it, I really need to dig into using iOS with a keyboard again.

Anyway, you might hit little differences like that, but by and large, particularly for the Voiceover specific commands, it works a *lot* like a Mac. I don't think you'll have many problems figuring it out. In fact, I wonder if you can add keyboard shortcuts, like cmd-q to close the current app? Another thing I should dig into. Oh, here's what full keyboard access does, in case you want to play with it. Doesn't look like you get a whole lot, nothing that Voiceover can't do already with the keyboard, but you can always try playing with it.

https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/control-iphone-with-an-external-keyboard-ipha4375873f/ios

And while I'm at it, here's yet another short article, about using cmd-space to search and text replacements.

https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/use-shortcuts-iph3da414515/ios

Correction. iOS voiceover does indeed interact. In fact, by default, it is two finger swipe right, and two finger swipe left, to interact, and stop interacting respectively. I do believe it is labeled differently, however. Something like, move in ((interact) (, and, move out (stop interacting)).

HTH

Is it set up to do that by default though? I changed those gestures to left and right rotor because I do not get that two finger twist thingy everybody seems to love. I can do it most of the time, but I usually end up turning my whole hand, and if I have to do it for any length of time, it starts messing with me. So since I wasn't using interaction, I reassigned them. Anyway I don't think Vo-shift up/down are equivalent gestures, which is what you'd use on the Mac. But I also don't think you need them on the phone either, e.g. on Mac often if you want to do anything in a table, you have to interact, while on the phone, you don't. So by default, I don't think things are set up for interaction, even if you can do it.

Sorry, I should have been clearer about it all.

To my knowledge, the default navigation style on iOS and iPadOS is Flat, but can be changed to Grouped in VoiceOver Settings.

Hi,

By default, the move in and move out gestures are as I posted above, two finger swipe to the left or right. That is the default touch gesture for iOS. I don't use them myself either, as those particular gestures are used for next and previous control, because I hate using the rotor just to navigate buttons and such. Just like my two finger swipe up and down I use for previous, and next heading respectively, for the same reasons I mentioned regarding form controls.
Anyways, as Tyler pointed out, flat navigation is default, but if you set it to group, and you use the move in and move out jesters, you can interact with any type of container.
A good way to test it, is to set VO navigation to group, enable those gestures, then open up a webpage in Safari, near the bottom of the screen where the toolbar is you can actually interact with that so that you are, "locked in", just like you would be locked into a toolbar in Safari on macOS, if you interacted with it.

Hope this makes sense, I am awake way too early in the morning...

Command tab does work on the iPhone, at least for me as of iOS 26. A lot easier than using the VO specific commands to switch between apps. I have a third gen Magic keyboard, the newer one with a USB port.

Also, circa iPadOS 15, Apple added a bunch of keyboard commands that use the globe key to do a lot of universal things, like going to the home screen, app switcher, etc. I can get some of these to work, like globe+H to go to the home screen, but not all of them. I can't get globe+up arrow to show me the app switcher, but the MKB does have a function key shortcut for that, as long as you have quick nav turned off.

And yes, if you set VO navigation to grouped, you can interact with content using the normal VO command we all know and love. I haven't found any good use cases to have group navigation on though. Interesting that on iPhone and iPad, VO is set up to not interact by default, but on the Mac it is. I think quite a few years ago Apple allowed you to disable interaction on the mac, but wonder why it's not used more?

There are a bunch of links and stuff. One great way to learn is if you start using it and run into something you're not getting, just ask us. Obviously a few of us use keyboards with iOS, so somebody should be able to help you by explaining or giving step by step instructions or what have you.

What it does is, say you're in a message in the Mail app. If you interact with the body/message content, then touching another part of the screen won't get you out of it. It might move you somewhere else in the text of the message, but it won't jump to the address or the back button at the top of the screen or what have you. So it just depends on what you prefer.

If you do a two-finger tap four times quickly, you'll open VOiceover quick settings. In there you'll find "navigation style", I believe it's called. It's set to flat by default. You can change it there.