I don't know if this problem has been reported before but I can say that it's been around for years in both iOS and iPadOS.
I like to use full screen zoom to help with reading and naturally also use Smart Typing and Follow Focus.
When you select a text field, the keyboard pops up and the Full Screen Zoom temporarily switches to a Windowed Zoom view that follows the text. Once the keyboard drops away, the Zoom Window then reverts back to Full Screen. At least, that's what's supposed to happen.
Since back when I used an iPhone X, after a certain major OS update (I forget which) the Follow Focus Zoom Window would get 'stuck' in the Windowed view and not revert. The easiest way to put it back in full screen was to return to the home screen.
It occurs most frequently in the Messages and YouTube apps but can also occur in Safari and others.
The issue became such a nuisance that I switched back to an Android Phone (which doesn't have such a problem). I still use an iPad though and the bug never seems to get fixed. Honestly, I wouldn't mind going back to an iPhone for better synergy but am afraid of this issue once again getting in the way.
I did report it to Apple though that was a couple of years or so ago at this point.
Has anyone else encountered this issue?
I would include video but i need to figure out the best way to film it as, unfortunately, iPad screen record doesn't show any accessibility features in screen recordings.
UPDATE: Here's a link to 3 video clips demonstrating the issue:
Comments
I totally agree.
I too have experienced the exact same scenario.
Another unfortunate bug is when typing with a bluetooth keyboard and trackpad/mouse. On iPadOS, the zoom area will not follow the mouse. One has to tap/click out of the text area for focus to follow the pointer again. This too is an oversight on Apple.
At least give the user an option to toggle that on/off with a shortcut or something.
Added video clips of the…
Added video clips of the problem. Link is at the bottom of the main post.
Low-vision plus VoiceOver on Mac
This is off topic. I'm now totally blind and no longer use low-vision features. Back when I still did, I used VoiceOver at the same time. And in my experience, many of the low vision features simply don't work well with VoiceOver. As one example, VO+F5 is supposed to move the mouse pointer to where VoiceOver has focus. That works well when you're zoomed out. But if you're zoomed in, the behavior is so unpredictable that I can't actually describe what it does. It's like it was never tested, as if Apple never thought someone might use both low vision features and VoiceOver at the same time.