When in an input field, you simply tap to place the cursor. If you need finer placement you use the spacebar. The tap works 90% of the time since you’re usually editing whole words.

Also, iOS has kept a software implementation of force touch around, even after removing the hardware: a hard press goes directly into cursor placement, it takes a bit more force than it used to. I imagine it’s a mix of gyroscopes and detecting a growing touch surface.