Third-party keyboards get an extra 17pt gap at the top after switching apps on iOS 27 beta.

Feedback submitted: FB24460699 The sample projects are attached to the feedback report.

Environment:iOS27 Beta6; iPhone 17Pro

Problem:I have encountered a consistently reproducible third-party custom keyboard layout issue in iOS 27.0 beta 1 through beta 6.

The custom keyboard initially appears correctly. If I switch apps while the text input remains focused and the keyboard remains visible, and then return to the host app, the system adds a 17-point area above the custom keyboard extension.

Steps to reproduce

  1. Install and enable a third-party custom keyboard.
  2. Switch to the sample custom keyboard and open the host app so that the text editor in the center receives focus.
  3. Do not dismiss the keyboard or remove focus from the editor. Return to the Home Screen or switch to another app.
  4. Return to the host app.
  5. A new blank area now appears above the custom keyboard content.

I tested both a system-determined extension view height and an extension view explicitly constrained to 180 points. Both configurations produce exactly the same change.

After the foreground transition, the following extension-side values remain unchanged:

  • view.bounds
  • inputView.bounds
  • extension.window.bounds
  • view.safeAreaInsets, which remains {0, 0, 0, 0}
  • The requested 180-point extension height

Only the system keyboard frame received by the host app increases by 17 points. I also drew a rounded pink boundary inside the transparent extension root view. When the issue occurs, the new area appears outside that boundary.

I tested several third-party keyboards and reproduced the issue with all of them. This suggests that the behavior is caused by iOS rather than by my app.

Questions

  1. On iOS 27, is it expected behavior for a custom keyboard to gain a 17pt top area after its host app returns from the background?
  2. If this is a system issue, is there any workaround that can be used until it is fixed?

This sounds like the same or very similar issue I’ve reported on iOS 26.

FB21449121: UIInputViewController: Custom keyboard extension height is incorrect depending on which keyboard you switched from when app has an input accessory view

  1. Start on the English system keyboard
  2. Tap and hold the globe key and switch to the third-party keyboard
  3. Notice the height and layout of the keyboard - take a screenshot
  4. Tap and hold the globe key and switch to the emoji keyboard
  5. Tap and hold the globe key and switch to the third-party keyboard
  6. Notice the height and layout of the keyboard - take a screenshot
  7. Compare the screenshots

Expected: The screenshots should be identical Actual: The keyboard height is smaller when you came from the emoji keyboard due to losing insets from the top edge

Still not fixed in iOS 27.0 (24A435).

Third-party keyboards get an extra 17pt gap at the top after switching apps on iOS 27 beta.
 
 
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