How to enable the iPad QuickType "Floating Keyboard" mini keyboard? The iPad now contains a mini, draggable, floating keyboard as an alternative to the full screen keyboard. This was released in iOS 13 / iPadOS 13 in September 2019.

This mini keyboard is roughly the size of an iPhone keyboard, but floating on your iPad's screen.

From the iPadOS release notes:


  QuickType
  
  New floating keyboard leaving more room for your content—drag it anywhere you like


and Features:


  Floating keyboard
  
  Pinch to shrink the QuickType keyboard and move it wherever you want so there’s more room for your apps.


How do you enable this iPad mini floating keyboard?
Tap and hold the &quot;Dismiss Keyboard&quot; button in the bottom-right corner of the default iPad keyboard.
You will see a &quot;Floating&quot; pop-up. Select this action to activate the Floating keyboard.

To return to the standard iPad keyboard, grab the Floating Keyboard's drag handle and drag the keyboard to the bottom of the screen.