How to type the degree symbol on iPhone
To type the degree symbol on iPhone, switch to the numeric keyboard and touch and hold the 0 (zero) key until ° pops up, then slide to select it. You can also copy ° once or save it as a text replacement for writing temperatures quickly.
Quick answer
Tap 123 → press and hold 0 → slide to °.
Step by step
Open the numbers keyboard
Tap the 123 button in the lower-left corner of the on-screen iOS keyboard.
Touch and hold the zero key
Press and keep your thumb firmly on the 0 key for half a second until a menu bubble appears above it.
Slide to the degree sign
Without lifting your thumb, slide your finger to the degree symbol ° bubble and let go.
Add the unit letter
Type a capital C or F immediately after the sign to produce proper notation like 21°C or 70°F.
The hidden zero key shortcut on iOS
Apple hides several useful punctuation marks behind long-press gestures, and the degree mark is one of the most frequently used. When you switch to the numbers view by tapping 123, touching and holding the digit 0 reveals a small popup menu containing the circular degree symbol °. Simply dragging your finger across and releasing it places the character directly into your text field.
This gesture works identically across all modern iOS and iPadOS versions. Whether you are typing a weather update in Messages, drafting an email in Mail, composing notes, or posting on social media, the gesture remains standard. Because it is built directly into the default software keyboard, you never need to install third-party keyboard utilities just to type daily temperatures.
Formatting weather and angles correctly
When writing temperatures, international scientific style places a non-breaking space between the numeric measurement and the unit symbol, as in 25 °C. In contrast, news outlets and informal conversational messaging frequently omit the space, writing 25°C or 75°F. Both forms communicate clearly, but maintaining consistency within your document is key. Be careful not to confuse the degree sign with the masculine ordinal indicator º (used in Spanish and Portuguese for numbering, such as 1º), which sits on letter keys in certain international layouts.
If you also write mathematical angles or geographic coordinates indicating latitude and longitude (such as 37° 46' North), the same degree sign applies. You can copy the exact glyph directly from our dedicated degree symbol page, which includes HTML character entities and Unicode references.
Creating an iOS text replacement shortcut
If you find holding down the zero key cumbersome when drafting many temperature reports, setting up an iOS Text Replacement is an outstanding productivity habit. Open the Settings app on your iPhone, navigate to General → Keyboard → Text Replacement, and tap the plus icon (+) in the upper right corner. Paste ° into the Phrase field, and assign a memorable snippet such as “deg” or “;deg” into the Shortcut field.
Once saved, typing your shortcut followed by a space automatically expands into ° in every application. Because Apple synchronizes keyboard settings through iCloud, the text replacement you set up on your iPhone becomes instantly active on your iPad and Mac. For desktop shortcuts, see our guide on the degree symbol on Mac as well as the degree symbol on Windows.
Typing on external iPad and iPhone keyboards
When pairing an external physical keyboard—such as the Apple Magic Keyboard or a Bluetooth keyboard—with your iPhone or iPad, the on-screen long-press gesture is unavailable. Instead, press Option + Shift + 8 on a standard US hardware keyboard layout to insert ° instantly. You can review all mobile shortcut strategies in our how to type symbols on iPhone guide, and compare Android alternatives in our walkthrough for the degree symbol on Android.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the degree symbol hidden on the iPhone keyboard?
Tap 123 to open the numbers layout, then press and hold the 0 key. The degree symbol ° appears in the popup menu.
Can I type °C and °F with a single shortcut on iPhone?
You can create custom text replacements in Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement, such as turning “;c” into “°C” and “;f” into “°F”.
Why does holding O give a different circle than holding 0?
Holding the letter O gives accented letters and the ordinal indicator º. Holding the number 0 gives the genuine mathematical degree symbol ° (U+00B0).