I still use an iPhone XS and that's one of my favorite features that it has, I use it all the time and it's a shame it's not still there, kind of holding me back from upgrading
From the original post:
“Fast forward to today, the trackpad mode and selection feature technically still exist albeit in a lesser form. If you long press (aka hold down) on the spacebar of your touch screen keyboard (which works on iPad too) you can get into trackpad mode.”
Also confirmed by another commenter in this thread.