Apple still isn’t big on generative AI, but it did end up using machine learning to both improve autocorrect and provide inline text predictions in macOS Sonoma, iOS 17, and iPadOS 17. Now, as you’re typing, Apple shows in-line predictions for what you might want to type next. These predictions show up in gray—and many times, they’re actually good suggestions. When you see a prediction you want to run with, you can press the space bar, and Apple fills the text in.
But if you’re a fast touch typist, you already know what you’re going to type. In my experience, it’s faster to type the rest of the word or phrase I have in mind than to take the mental break to decide, yes, that is what I wanted to type, and use the space bar to move on to the next word. If you find this feature as annoying as I do, the good news is you can turn it off quite easily.
How to turn off inline text predictions on macOS Sonoma
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For some, inline predictions may help you type faster on your iPhone keyboard. But that doesn’t translate to the speed of typing on a physical keyboard when using a Mac. Any app updated for macOS Sonoma enables this feature by default, along with all of Apple’s own apps, so you’ll see it everywhere.
To disable this feature, go to System Settings > Keyboard, then, under the Text Input heading, click the Edit button next to the Input Sources option. From the pop-up menu, click the toggle next to Show inline predictive text and click the Done button to save the changes.
How to turn off inline text predictions on iOS 17
This feature is only available for iPhone 12 and higher, as it uses on-device intelligence to process and suggest text.
Apple clearly didn’t think this was going to bother iPhone users, so they didn’t think of adding a toggle switch at launch. After listening to users, Apple will provide a way for disabling only the inline text prediction, without disabling the whole predictive text system, when iOS 17.2 comes out.
You can access it right now if you’re running the iOS 17.2 public beta. If not, you’ll have to disable the Predictive feature altogether. If you’re running iOS 17.2, go to Settings > General > Keyboard and disable the Show Predictions Inline option. And if you don’t have iOS 17.2, you can turn off the Predictive feature in Keyboard settings to get the same results.