Recent versions have made replying and editing very cumbersome on compact screens

[foresto]

I think this screen shot sums up the problem fairly well:

The Reply banner and preview panel gobble up most of the otherwise-available screen space, leaving only two short lines for the text edit field. The button placed on top of the edit field makes the situation even worse.

Being unable to see the cursor or the just-entered letters makes typing needlessly difficult, and trying to select/copy/paste is sometimes nearly impossible.

I don't remember when the UI was changed to use this layout, but I think it was within the past year.

[Mosc]

The main reason it looks so cramped is because the preview panel is showing. It's probably best for you to disable this with a toggle before you tap on the text field to type your message, but it can also be done later on by hiding the keyboard temporarily, for instance with the Android back button.

It could also be argued that the preview panel is too big relative to the edit section. I've reduced its size a bit in e87e9a4.

The floating action button placement is something that could be reconsidered as well. I like the consistency it provides in combination with other pages in the app, but it is true that it can get in the way.

[foresto]

Could the preview panel's default state be made an option in the settings, to avoid having to manually hide it every time? That alone wouldn't fully restore usability, but I think it would help.

Perhaps swapping the preview panel and the text entry box positions would also help? This might be useful when a preview is wanted, and have the nice side effect of keeping the text entry box close to the keyboard.

The floating action button placement is something that could be reconsidered as well.

Thank you. I appreciate your taking the time to think about it.